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(The Sun) VOTERS in Permatang Pauh pick their member of Parliament for the second time in three months today after being bombarded by an intense and bitter 10-day by-election campaign during which mud-slinging, character assassination and aggressive behaviour sank to new lows.
The highlights of the last day of campaigning yesterday: > Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah said an SMS was circulated asking all heads or representatives of operation centres to go to his house on Sunday night and last night "to receive payment". "The SMS is not from me or my service centre and it is obviously being circulated by some parties to smear my name," he said, adding that those who turned up on Sunday night were annoyed to find out it was a hoax. > Police have reminded the thousands of party supporters from outside the state not to enter Permatang Pauh today to avoid congestion as the roads there are narrow. Its Permatang Pauh by-election media relations officer Supt Shaharon Anuar Abdul Latif said the number of police personnel to ensure security in the area would be increased from the 6,000 deployed earlier. > Police will not issue permits to any party to hold victory processions after the results are announced tonight. Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said this was to prevent things from getting out of hand and undermining national security. > Thirteen NGOs have urged political parties and politicians to disassociate themselves from racially and religiously divisive messages that are aimed at the voters. > Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak says only the mufti can decide whether the sworn statement by Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan that he was sodomised by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was in line with Islam, not the imam who was present during the ceremony. This was in response to iman Ramlang Porigi's statement refusing to be associated with the ceremony as his presence was a mere coincidence. Ramlang, one of the nine imams in the KL Federal Territory Mosque, told a series of gatherings in Seberang Perai on Sunday night that he was directed by "people above" to witness the swearing by Mohd Saiful.
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