After Malacca, Anwar urges govt to reconsider 'restrictive' election SOPs

 

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (Harapan-Port Dickson) has urged the government to reconsider the restrictive election SOPs as he said it undermines the voters’ ability to make informed choices.

He said this should be done as soon as possible, in time for the upcoming Sarawak state election.

This comes after the Malacca snap polls on Saturday, in which Pakatan Harapan only managed to win five out of the 28 state seats contested.

“As you know, an election is an opportunity for politicians to give clarifications and explanations but when those cannot be presented and we cannot even meet (with the voters), then it is a problematic restriction.

“So I urge (the government) to reconsider and change this regulation so that the (voters’) informed choice is in line with the democratic spirit,” Anwar said while debating the Budget 2022 allocations for the Prime Minister’s Department in the Dewan Rakyat today.

All election-related physical gatherings and social events were banned throughout the Malacca state elections, due to fears of another Covid-19 outbreak.

However, this greatly hampered the candidates’ campaigning on the ground.

Harapan’s poor showing in the Malacca snap polls has led to calls for Anwar to step down as opposition leader, including from within the coalition.

Several Harapan leaders have since stepped forth to defend Anwar, saying the loss in Malacca was not only the fault of Anwar, and that it was counterproductive to zero in on any single personality.

The Sarawak state election is widely expected to be held before the end of this year.

Separately, Teresa Kok (Harapan-Seputeh) also urged the government to consider printing ballot papers in colour so that voters will not be so easily confused by the parties’ logos.

“There are voters who do not know much about party logos and cannot clearly see the difference between (the logos of) Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Harapan.

“So they might have marked a cross on the wrong part and this has contributed to PN’s loss in the Malacca state polls,” she said.

Ballot papers are currently printed in black and white, along with the parties’ logo next to their candidates’ names. - Mkini