WOULD voters know the difference between a bogus Member of Parliament and the real McCoy?

That was what Malaysian reporter M. Krishnamoorthy (above, left) wanted to find out last week, just before nomination day on Sunday.

So, donning a light blue bush jacket, a fake name tag that read 'YB Sam Kris' and accompanied by four reporters, a photographer and a television cameraman, the Star reporter went on a walkabout in Brickfields, a suburb in Kuala Lumpur.

As any MP would do on a walkabout, Mr Krishnamoorthy, 59, greeted residents with a smile.

He even used a smattering of Cantonese, such as 'Ngoh ke meng hai' (my name is) Sam Kris and 'Thau piu (cast your vote) for me'.

PLEDGES OF SUPPORT

He shook their hands and asked for their support in the coming general elections on 8Mar.

Surprisingly, not one of the 100-plus people he spoke to realised that he was not a real MP.

A considerable number even promised to vote for him.

Mr Krishnamoorthy told The New Paper that he had done a similar thing during the 2004 elections, with the same result.

Were real politicians upset by his stunt?

No, said Mr Krishnamoorthy, who has been a reporter for 39 years.

'After my (report) came out on nomination day, I even got calls from the real MPs, congratulating me on doing a good job,' he told The New Paper.

Mr Krishnamoorthy added that he is well-known in Malaysia for his investigative undercover reports.

Last year, after receiving complaints that Malaysian taxi drivers jacked up fares for tourists, he went undercover as a Singaporean businessman.

Mr Krishnamoorthy recalled: 'I wore a suit and carried a briefcase when I walked out from KLIA (airport). I got into a taxi and asked to go to KL convention centre.

'The fare was an exorbitant RM500 ($218)!'

The veteran reporter says that he goes undercover to show his readers what is really happening in Malaysia

In posing as an MP, Mr Krishnamoorthy said he wanted to prove that many voters were uninterested and uninformed about the elections in Malaysia.

He also wanted to show that candidates had not done enough to make themselves known to the voters.

At a Klang wet market, Mr Krishnamoorthy stopped for 10minutes and listened to a fruit seller complain about how retailers at the market could not sell shoes and clothes.

As any MP would do, Mr Krishnamoorthy assured the hawker that he would take the matter up with the authorities.

His last stop was at a Starbucks outlet in Subang Jaya packed with college students.

Half of them expressed interest in the general elections, even though they were not eligible to vote yet.

Mr Krishnamoorthy said he hopes that the younger generation would at least make an effort to know and recognise their MPs before casting their votes.

This story was first published in The New Paper on Feb 26, 2008.