By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : An opposition legislator of Indian origin in Malaysia’s Perak state has alleged that the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) had offered him money to cross over.
Perak assembly member from Buntong, A. Sivasubramaniam has lodged a police report, claiming that he was offered RM 80 million ($36 million) to switch to the BN, The Star newspaper said Thursday.
Sivasubramaniam had hit the headlines last week for resigning from the opposition Democratic Action party (DAP), on whose nomination he had won the election, and then withdrawing his resignation six hours later.
He was questioned by the state anti-corruption agency Tuesday after similar allegations by his fellow party man V. Sivakumar, the Tronoh assemblyman.
Sivasubramaniam said he received the offers through his mobile phone.
Asked why he had only brought the matter to the police after such a long time, Sivasubramaniam said: “These people are becoming too arrogant and I feel I have to put a stop to this”.
He denied that his quitting the DAP March 31 and then retracting his resignation had anything to do with the alleged offers he had received.
Other DAP assemblymen, he added, had also received similar offers.
Allegations and counter-allegations about political bribery have figured frequently since last month’s elections, in which the opposition scored well with 82 members in the assembly and together wrested control in five states.