DAP candidate slams govt for leaving young voters in the dark

 

DAP’s Marina Ibrahim says she does not feel any disadvantage as a Malay candidate in a mainly Chinese constituency.

SKUDAI: Many youngsters are unaware that they are able to vote in the Johor elections and do not know where they will be casting their ballots, says DAP’s candidate for Skudai, Marina Ibrahim, who pinned the blame on Putrajaya.

In an interview with FMT, she said there was a lack of publicity from the federal government on the Undi18 constitutional amendments and how youths aged 18 to 20 could now vote in the elections.

She said it was Putrajaya that bore the primary responsibility of providing young voters with information on their involvement in the Johor polls.

Marina said DAP had been running programmes to raise awareness among youths on their right to vote and where their polling stations would be.

“However, the bulk of the responsibility still falls on the government. The government has to be more proactive and must not deprive youths of their right to vote,” she said.

Marina will be involved in a three-way fight for Skudai in her first outing as an election candidate. Her opponents are Gerakan’s Khoo Kong Ek representing Perikatan Nasional (PN) and MCA’s Lim Soon Hai appearing for Barisan Nasional (BN).

More than 60% of the voters in Skudai are Chinese, according to Election Commission data.

Skudai has been represented by a Chinese elected representative since 1995, with Gerakan holding the seat before it changed hands to DAP in 2008. Since then, DAP has retained the seat for three terms.

Marina said she did not feel disadvantaged by contesting in a Chinese-majority area against two Chinese candidates. One of her opponents, Khoo, had been the Skudai assemblyman from 1999 to 2004.

“We have to get rid of the mentality that we can only help people from the same race. I feel that if the candidate is honest in helping people, the contested area shouldn’t be a challenge,” she said.

Citing the recent floods in Johor, she said it was obvious that the state government did not care about the people, adding that voters wanted a new administration to helm the state.

“Voters will remember this. They are tired of this government and are looking for a change,” she said. - FMT