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Pakatan Harapan calls for Johor state polls to be postponed or allow for 'open campaigning'

Pakatan Harapan calls for Johor state polls to be postponed or allow for 'open campaigning'
File photo of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional flags seen during the Melaka state elections in 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s main opposition coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH), has called for the upcoming Johor state polls to be postponed in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country.     

PH said that it views seriously the COVID-19 wave caused by the Omicron variant when the daily caseload shot up to 17,000 on Wednesday. 

“To make sure that this situation is not used for political purposes, the government should consider postponing the Johor election,” said the PH presidential council in a statement on Thursday (Feb 10).

“If the government refuses to postpone it and instead wants to be flexible like Western countries, then it should allow for open campaigning including ceramahs (political talks),” it added.

The statement was signed by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) president Mohamad Sabu, Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and United Progressive Kinabalu Organization (UPKO) president Madius Tangau.

Two previous state elections in Melaka and Sarawak last year were rather muted affairs, with no political rallies allowed in view of the COVID-19 situation.

Malaysia’s COVID-19 caseload began to spike from the middle of December when daily cases fluctuated between 2,000 to 3,000, before hitting an upward trend at the end of the month.

On Thursday it recorded 19,090 new cases, the highest daily figure in nearly five months, bringing the total cumulative cases to more than 2.97 millions.

In its statement, the PH presidential council, however, emphasised that no full lockdown should be imposed, as it has been proven to have failed before.

It warned the government not to abuse its powers by enforcing lawsuits against individuals and businesses, but instead focuses on education and awareness to address the challenges of the Omicron wave.

Malaysia’s Election Commission (EC) had announced that polling day for the Johor state election will be on Mar 12, with nominations to take place on Feb 26.

There are 2,597,742 voters who will be eligible to cast their ballot during the state’s election, with the EC targeting a 70 per cent voter turnout.

On its campaigning plan, PH said that the coalition would provide a “series of offers” to the Johor voters touching on economic development, social stability as well as political reforms that will be announced before the start of the election campaign.

Separately, PH’s two component parties, Amanah and DAP had announced they had reached an agreement with another opposition party, Malaysian United Democratic Party (MUDA), not to contest against each other in the Johor polls.

Similar talks between PKR and MUDA are said to be still ongoing.

SIMPLIFY REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR POSTAL VOTERS: OPPOSITION MP

Meanwhile, opposition MP Yeo Bee Yin has urged the EC to simplify the process for overseas  voters who want to cast their votes via post.

The MP for Bakri said that there are about 400,000 Malaysians in Singapore, with many of them from Johor. 

She said that the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) arrangement limits the number of voters that can travel back to vote in the upcoming Johor state election.

“The Election Commission (EC) must show strong commitment to encourage more Johor voters to participate in the voting process,” she said in a statement on Thursday. 

She claimed that a voter needed to first register an account on the EC website, which may take up to two days to approve, before they could login and register as a postal voter.

She said that the EC should simplify the steps of allowing the registration for the account and as postal voter at the same time.

“COVID-19 is already making it difficult for voters to turn-out to vote, EC should not make it even more difficult for the democratic process to take place,” added Miss Yeo.

The EC said that the online applications for postal voters, including those who are overseas, were open from Feb 9 to Feb 22.    

Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching had last month called on the EC to establish an overseas polling station at the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore as there was a significant number of Johor voters working across the Causeway.

Source: CNA/rv(ih)

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