Rafizi to recruit 30K volunteers to start GE campaign to boost turnout

PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli is seeking 30,000 volunteers to get a head start on general election campaigning, which he hopes to kick off next month.

This is in anticipation that the Dewan Rakyat can be dissolved as early as August or September, so a new government could table Budget 2023 in October, he said.

The campaign, called ‘Ayuh Malaysia’, is to arrest voter fatigue, with poor turnout threatening to scuttle PKR and Pakatan Harapan's chances at the next polls.

"I urge all volunteers and supporters of PKR and Harapan who joined my campaign before to join me again in this campaign starting July 1.

"The situation has changed, but I believe our efforts to go closer to the voters can help us meet our target to raise voter turnout and attract fence-sitters and first-time voters," he said.

By his estimations, Rafizi said PKR and Harapan have the potential to come out as the largest bloc in the Dewan Rakyat post-GE15.

However, it must work to boost turnout from the trend of about 60 percent in the recent state elections to 70 percent.

That way, he said, PKR and Harapan will be able to capture the votes of their traditional supporters.

Attracting first-time voters

The ‘Ayuh Malaysia’ campaign also aims at attracting first-time voters, fence-sitters and those who turned away from the coalition since 2018.

He said the coalition just needs to attract five percent of fence-sitters and former supporters, and 30 percent of first-time voters, to win the polls.

To get there, he said, the 30,000 volunteers will have to conduct campaigning door to door, via phone and through social media, in marginal constituencies.

A ticketed fundraiser will also be held in SJKC Chung Kwo, Kuala Lumpur on July 2, in Johor Bahru on July 7, and in Penang on July 23, to raise funds for a campaign truck.

The truck will be used to hold political rallies and discussions in constituencies nationwide, to reinvigorate interest in politics in the lead-up to the polls.

Having recently returned to active politics, by emerging victorious in the PKR deputy president race, Rafizi is viewed by some as a force to boost PKR and Harapan's chances in the next general election.

This is amid a landscape of voter fatigue after the Sheraton Move in 2020 plunged Malaysia into a prolonged political crisis. - Mkini