BUTTERWORTH: The grand ceremony to welcome home Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei in Bukit Mertajam on Wednesday in the midst of campaigning for the Permatang Pauh by-election has raised eyebrows here.
He was flown to the RMAF air base here in a private jet accompanied by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob and then chauffeur-driven to his hometown in Berapit.
Barisan Nasional candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah denied talk that the coalition was capitalising on Lee’s fame to fish for votes.
“It’s just a coincidence that he came back during the by-election.
“Since he had wanted to meet his family members in Berapit and Ismail Sabri was coming to Penang for functions, we decided to give him a proper escort to his hometown,” he said yesterday.
Arif Shah said Lee was put on a private jet since he had quite a number of people in his entourage and it was difficult for them to book seats on other airlines.
On the by-election, Arif Shah said he was confident of winning with a slim majority.
“This time, we should be able to get an additional 8,000 votes from the 20,000 votes we obtained in the March 8 general election.”
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Lee’s success had been “manipulated” by Barisan when he agreed to receive the RM300,000 cheque in Permatang Pauh.
“In fact, I understand that he’s back here (Kuala Lumpur) today. Why can’t the cheque presentation take place in Kuala Lumpur?
“It’s quite clear that he’s been manipulated and the Barisan Nasional is using the ceremony to their advantage for the campaign.
“The use of the Defence Ministry’s facilities for the by-election is improper, a form of abuse and a waste of public funds,” he told reporters at Parliament lobby.
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