BUKIT MERTAJAM: A 29-year-old engineer has admitted to being the person who doctored a campaign poster of Permatang Pauh Barisan Nasional’s (BN) chairman, Datuk Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said, to show that the politician was giving away free undergarments.
Ismail Harun, who edited the poster, said he only did it as a prank on one of his friends and it was shared in his workplace WhatsApp group.
He even replaced Zaidi’s face with that of his friend’s on the poster.
“I never thought it would go viral on social media. I felt guilty when it got the attention of Datuk Zaidi.
“Once I realised it had created all sorts of trouble and tarnished the image of Permatang Pauh BN, I decided to contact him (Zaidi) and apologise,” he said.
Ismail personally apologised to Zaidi on Friday.
Meanwhile, Zaidi said he was wiling to forget the matter this time around, but cautioned Ismail not to repeat the mistake.
He said that he believed Ismail was sincere in asking for his forgiveness.
“However, such matters should not made into jokes, more so when it involves the dignity of an individual and a political party.
“Maybe there are some who think that if such acts are let go, it would only encourage others to do the same, as they would only need to say sorry and then get off free.
“I guess it depends. But I will not be so generous (with forgiving) the next time around,” he said.
The original poster bore an image of Zaidi promoting a free spectacles giveaway programme for the people of Permatang Pauh.
A police report was lodged after the doctored image went viral.