UNPRECEDENTED ‘PEOPLE POWER’ SEEN IN MALAYSIA: A WORRISOME MOMENT FOR NAJIB REGIME AS OUTRAGED VOTERS ORGANIZE THEMSELVES FOR ‘MOTHER OF ALL ELECTIONS’

PETALING JAYA – Malaysians have come together on social media, especially on Twitter and Facebook to help each other return home to vote on May 9 (Wednesday) for the 14th General Election.

A number of Malaysians on Twitter and Facebook have expressed their willingness to give up their flight tickets, so they can help fellow voters return to their hometowns if three or more people are willing to carpool with them.

There were also some social media users who offered free rides to voters back to their hometowns.

A number of private firms have also joined in by offering to pay the travelling expenses of voters, not only for those living in Sabah and Sarawak but also those living in the peninsula.

The management of Marble Emporium Sdn Bhd is offering all its workers who are eligible to vote, three days off with RM300 allowance and the company will also purchase air tickets for those returning to their hometowns.

Seksan Design is offering their employees paid holidays from Tuesday to Thursday to allow them to vote.

Jom Balik Undi, a carpooling initiative by Malaysians working in Singapore to come back and vote, has gone viral nationwide with Facebook users from different locations asking and being offered rides to all parts of the country.

Voters on Twitter are using #CarpoolGE14 by offering to drive to different destinations despite having bought either bus or air tickets if there are three or more people who are willing to follow them.

Some of the examples on Twitter: #carpoolGE14, From: Gelang Patah, Johor, To: Ayer Keroh, Melaka, Date: 7 May 2018, Time : 10am, Meeting Point: Petronas Gelang Patah, Johor, Available Seats : 3, Anyone interested can dm, reply this tweet.

There are also a number of Malaysians who have been offering to help their fellow countrymen financially.

Twitter user FH@faahanie offered to give a financial contribution to aid those who intend to return to their hometowns to vote. Urging those who need assistance to send a private message.

While @MinMin tweeted “I have helped @SyazRidhuwan to #PulangMengundi from Kuching to Telok Kechai, Kedah. I have RM410 funds remaining and it is enough for one person left in my list.”

Online digital editor Joe Lee, the person behind #PulangMengundi, said they have received strong support from the public and hundreds of “angels” (sponsors) have come forward and more are continuing to come forward.

He said they are planning to run the campaign along with #CarpoolGE14 and #UndiRabu until election day.

Meanwhile, in Johor Baru, some several thousand Malaysians working in Singapore are expected to carpool to return home for polling day.

Some were reported to have chartered a bus together with other Malaysians, while political parties were also making arrangements to ferry voters home on May 9. – Sundaily

Despite mid-week date, Malaysians across Causeway raring to cast votes

KUALA LUMPUR – The Election Commission’s (EC) announcement that polling day for the 14th general election will be on a Wednesday did not seem to curb the enthusiasm of Malaysian voters who are working and residing in Singapore.

While acknowledging the burden of travel costs and the risk of their leave applications denied by employers, for many the urge to return home and exercise their constitutional right trumped these hurdles set ahead of them.

“Without a doubt I will return home to vote,” Ivan Spykerman, 29, a fragrance sommelier based in Bishan, told Malay Mail.

“Honestly, if my friends from Australia and Dubai can come back to vote, I don’t see why everyone else can’t,” added Spykerman, who will cast his vote in Kota Raja, Selangor.

Spykerman said he and his wife plan to fly back home after finishing work the day before, and will have no choice but to take a return flight the next day right after casting his vote.

Taking it a step further is Ng Tzi Ni, 40, an executive originally from Penang, who purchased her flight ticket for the polling day itself.

She said her return flight tickets with Singapore Airlines that cost her over S$204.80 (RM605) was booked as soon as the EC announced the date.

“Touch down Penang and straight to polling station,” she said.

Having tried other airlines, including AirAsia and Scoot, Ng claimed the website for the Malaysia-based budget airlines were down, while the prices for their Singaporean counterparts budget flyer were almost three times normal cost.

Ng said she bought her flight tickets even before applying for leave from work. Adamant on casting her vote, she said: “Worst case, take unpaid leave”.

Existing laws under the EC states that Malaysians living in Singapore, Southern Thailand, Brunei, and Kalimantan, Indonesia, are disqualified for postal voting and are required to vote in person.

For public policy student, Azira Aziz, 31, the cost was just something she had to bear to come back and vote.

“I still plan to come back and vote even if it might end up being a costly for me,” she said.

However, system analyst Kelvin Yap, 26, said he may opt for a cheaper travel alternative.

“I might carpool with several friends from Johor to KL to beat the flight costs,” he said.

Putrajaya had yesterday announced that Malaysians will be free to exercise their democratic rights with a public holiday here on the date, but those returning from abroad have no such luxury.

The decision to take a day off seemed easy to make for some, but those in the hectic medical field admitted the opportunity to come back and vote was ultimately at the mercy of their employers.

Medical practitioner Dr Khoo Yoong Kean, 39, said he wants to return home to vote in Damansara, Selangor but it would still require leave approval.

“As much as I wish to return to vote, if my leave application is not approved due to work commitments, I do not have much of a choice but to stay back,” Dr Khoo told Malay Mail.

Similarly, Aretha Tye, 30, a staff nurse based at a private hospital there, said she is faced with no option should superiors deny her leave application.

“Even though the election day is now set for a weekday, which I am slightly surprised with, I am hoping to be able to return to vote.

“If there is approval from my superiors, I might fly or bus it back to Cheng, Melaka, where I vote,” she said.

However, some Malaysians revealed they had no choice but to watch from afar as commitments stopped them from returning home.

“I will not be coming back to vote as the announcement came too late for me to apply for leave,” said Chrissy Phoong, 29, who is also based in Singapore.

Travelling much down south, a biomedical student based in Perth, Australia, S. Murali, 26, said study commitments stopped him from travelling back to vote.

”I need to stay in Australia for a few months to obtain my graduate visa, so I will have to give it a miss this time around,” he said.

It is unclear why the EC chose to conduct polling on a Wednesday, since it had not provided any explanation. The midweek polling day is rare, but not unprecedented.

However, this would be the first-ever general election to take place on a Wednesday since 1959.

– Malay Mail

SUNDAILY / MALAY MAIL