KOTA KINABALU: Political parties are warned not to nail their election materials on trees and at locations that could endanger the safety of the public or motorists.
Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said City Hall had on Tuesday taken down 385 election materials of a political party at Gaya Street and Tanjung Lipat that did not comply with the requirements, but he declined to reveal the party.
“What we don’t want is to have posters or flags nailed to trees,” he said after the Anzac Day memorial ceremony at Jalan Tugu here yesterday.
Abidin said political parties were not allowed to nail their election materials on trees and flowers because it was expensive to plant and maintain the trees.
He said political parties had been reminded of the conditions as they obtained their permit from City Hall.
Abidin stressed that the election materials put up, especially at road shoulders and roundabouts, should not pose safety risks to the public and motorists.
Political parties which failed to comply with the conditions in the permit will have their deposits forfeited, he warned.
The deposit for a parliament constituency is RM2,000, while that for state is RM1,000.
He said there was a task force comprising the police, Public Works Department (PWD), Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and City Hall with specific jurisdictions to look after.
For example, SESB will take down election materials on transformers and cables, PWD responsible for roads while the rest is under City Hall.
“My advice (to political parties) is to leave the trees and flowers alone, irrespective of small or big trees because it is very expensive (to plant and maintain the trees),” said the mayor.