Mul lashes out

By Mal Taime

NORTH Wahgi MP Benjamin Mul claimed he did not bribe people to vote for him.
The People’s National Congress Party candidate was reacting to media reports that he was arrested on offence of bribery, maybe the first for this election, by security forces.
“I did not hand out cash to people making their way to polling as reported in the Post-Courier, I was driving along with the policemen and polling officials transporting ballot boxes and papers,”
When I stopped the policemen came and saw K4000 was in my vehicle so they brought me to Mt Hagen to lay charges on me, but I was not proven guilty until I am found guilty in the court,” Mr Mul said.
He said they had leveled false allegations against him to tarnish his good name.
Mr Mul said he followed his fathers Talu Bol, Kanj Kindin and Dami Galme to become a leader, adding the people mandated him and he did not bribe the people to claim the North Wahgi Open seat in the 2007 National Election. He said those who raised false allegations to spoil his name had to understand that he (Mul) had his own singsing arena and took part in many traditional customary events from where the people mandated him to become leader.
Mr Mul raised his grievance at Banz police station on Tuesday and also slammed this paper for not weighing up stories properly.
“I also want to call the people not to tag me as “walking Automatic Teller Machine (ATM), I am a leader and my name is Benjamin Mul and not ATM, if anyone calls me ATM, I will take legal action agains him or her,” Mr Mul said.
He said it needed time and resources to become a leader and this was a tough job.
Mr Mul also appealed to candidates contesting for North Wahgi, Anglimp South Wahgi, Jimi and Jiwaka regional and their supporters not to take advantage by causing problems.
He said the meaning of the election was to give an opportunity to the people to elect their representative and not to bribe them or intimidate them to get votes.
Mr Mul claimed some candidates were trying to take sides with the security forces and become too aggressive and such actions must be condemned.
He said his tenure as Jiwaka Transitional Authority chairman had not expired yet and appealed to the people of the new province to respect the constitutional law of this country.
He said this was the first time for Jiwaka to go into election as a province of its own which was very good and the people must be proud of that.
Mr Mul said the candidates must accept both win and lose.
“If I lose in this election that’s very good, I will become a free and a happy man from the people’s pressure because it will give me enough time for my family,”
“If I retain the seat that’s okay I will go back for another term but still I know that I will face the people’s burden,” he said.
Mr Mul said if supporters of any candidate took advantage of the election to damage anything then the candidate would be responsible to that.