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©The Star (Used by permission)

KUCHING: A voter told the Election Court that he was angry and hurt after reading an article posted on Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen’s blog on the loss of religious freedom in the country.

Pensioner Kho Whai Phiaw who is challenging the results for the Bandar Kuching seat, said that sensitive religious allegations in the blog discredited his dignity as a Christian and affected him as a voter.

“As a Christian, I felt angry after reading the article,” he said, adding that all his Christian friends felt hurt and (the allegations) affected their decision to vote for Barisan Nasional.

“That means to say they would vote for the opposition,” he told Judge Datuk Clement Skinner on the first day of hearing yesterday.

Asked by counsel Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah why he said that reading the article made Christians like him would not want to vote for Barisan, Kho replied this was because it mentioned the destruction of a church by Umno.

He added that prior to reading the article, he was not aware that Umno was alleged to have demolished churches.

Kho also said he felt angry after reading one of DAP’s campaign pamphlets titled “After 50 Years of Independence” before the election.

He said the pamphlet led him to feel that religious freedom was being jeopardised and that the Chinese community was not given fair treatment.

On April 28, Kho filed a petition requesting the court to declare the results for Bandar Kuching null and void, naming Chong as the respondent.

Chong polled 22,901 votes in the election to defeat Barisan’s Alan Sim by 9,952 votes.

The hearing continues today.

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