Malaysian politicians claim they are being bombarded with spam calls on election day
While the complaints came from all sides, none of the political figures whose phones had been targeted specified who they suspected was behind the attack
Malaysian civil rights group Suaram said the spam calls, which have also affected civil society group leaders, were a “clear attempt to impede the work of human rights defenders and politicians at the critical juncture of voting day”.
The election is arguably the toughest faced by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, as it contends with a resurgent opposition pact led by former strongman Mahathir Mohamad.
Neck and neck: Najib vs Mahathir puts Malaysia election on razor edge
While the complaints came from all sides, none of the political figures whose phones had been targeted specified who they suspected was behind the attack.
Some leaders from the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition said they had switched off their phones after receiving automated calls nearly every minute from mostly unknown overseas numbers, since before polling opened at 8.00am.
“This is a dirty tech attack on us, we have been paralysed. We cannot talk to anyone … they are trying to sabotage the electoral system to deny a PH win,” said Lim Guan Eng, a senior opposition leader.
“The telcos must do something. We can complain to the authorities, but what can they do now?” Lim said.
BN leaders’ handphones have been under technical attack since morning. Calls from overseas keep coming in every few seconds! To prevent us from communicating with our machinery. This is dirty trick! pic.twitter.com/SU871PmF5G— Abdul Rahman Dahlan (@mpkotabelud) May 9, 2018