Political parties find the going tough with strict SOP in place

 

MALACCA POLLS | The grassroots of political parties involved in the campaign in the Malacca state election all have differing opinions on the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the Election Commission (EC), but all of them concurred that the rules are not easy to observe.

Among complaints raised was on visiting activities, which they claimed are normally allowed, but under the new norms to curb the spread of Covid-19, are no longer permitted during campaigning.

An Umno member Muhammad Adib Juhari, 24, said the SOP set for the Malacca state election made it difficult for the party machinery to campaign, but the rules must be followed to avoid the spread of Covid-19.

"What I see now is that it is difficult for us to campaign, but due to the Covid-19, it has to be done under the new norms. The best way we can do is to use technology, which actually helps in our campaign work,” he said.

He suggested that the SOP and the campaign period be reviewed.

"In my opinion, the campaign period should be longer so that the candidates can cover all the areas in the constituency they are contesting. If we hold online talks every day, the audience will be bored," he added.

Longer campaign period

Meanwhile, Jasin Bersatu division committee member, Mohd Arzaain Mat Darus, 35, said that five days of campaigning would suffice if strict SOP were imposed.

"Just five days (campaign period) is enough, instead of 12 days because with this strict SOP, it's difficult and we don't know what to do.

“Having a longer campaign period will only provide more opportunities for slander on social media, which will make it more difficult for candidates," he said.

Meanwhile, Tangga Batu Umno Youth committee member Mohd Haidhir Haris, 42, said it would be easier to approach the young people online, but would not be the same for senior citizens.

"For the young people, it is easy (to use the latest technology), but for those in their 50s and above, it is quite difficult to explain to them online," he said.

Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) member Siti Zarbedah Idros, 54, said not everyone has the time to read postings on Facebook or the WhatsApp application, but considered it a challenge for the party, which was registered in 2019.

"From tonight, we will upload digital content on social media sites in an effort to reach out to voters. We also plan to campaign on vehicles using loudhailers as proposed by the EC, but the rainy weather conditions have hampered our movement," she said.

Positive side

Siti Zarbedah said there was a positive side to the strict restrictions imposed during the campaign period.

“We can save cost as there will be no large-scale programmes with the people can be organised,” she added.

EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh had said last Monday that ceramah, public speeches and physical campaigns are not allowed during the state election.

He called on all parties to comply with SOP to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Among the banned activities are house-to-house visits, walkabouts and the distribution of pamphlets to members of the public face-to-face.

To campaign, candidates are encouraged to use social applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Wechat, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Telegram and other applications as the channel to deliver campaign messages.

The candidates could also use television networks, local newspapers and technology in line with the new normal practised following the pandemic.

The EC has set Nov 20 as polling day, with Nov 16 for early voting.

The election was called following the dissolution of the state legislative assembly on Oct 4 after four assemblypersons withdrew support for the leadership of chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali.

- Bernama