YOURSAY | GE15 this year, come rain or high water

 

YOURSAY | ‘We should dump any party that undermines our democracy.’

PM to propose Parliament dissolution date to Agong - Umno

OxymoronicTendencies: I must have missed something. Since when was Umno running the government?

They don’t have 112 MPs, do they? Even with PAS, they don’t. So how can they so brazenly think they can dictate when an election should or should not be held?

Yes, the PM is a member of Umno but surely that does not confer any rights for Umno to think they can dictate when an election should or should not be held. Although clearly, some believe they can.

Let’s see how much substance there is to this demand from the Umno supreme council. Perhaps a parliamentary vote of confidence is what is required to put the Umno supreme council “back in their box”.

Cogito Ergo Sum: Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan, the Agong will listen to the pulse of the nation. Not to a corrupt and bigoted party.

Your party is a joke run by alleged criminals and vicariously, by a convict in jail. Because your party thinks it can win an election now, you want to put the nation’s lives at risk. No, I hope the king turns you down.

FlabberPro: I hope Umno grassroots can see through how selfish their Umno supreme council members are.

They are not bothered about their livelihood or their safety. They are more concerned about staying in power. May the Agong hear the cries of the people.

David Dass: So, it looks like early elections. It will be Pakatan Harapan versus the BN+PAS+Bersatu.

Lots of promises will be made and goodies handed out. Voter apathy will work against Harapan. Umno and PAS will play the racial card.

In 2018, voters came out against corruption and sought change. But some of the leaders resisted reforms and wanted a lesser non-Malay presence in government.

And they precipitated the Sheraton Move which led to the collapse of the Harapan government. That has resulted in widespread disenchantment with the opposition.

Will the leaders of the opposition be able to get their act together? Will old leaders make way for younger leaders? What will it take to galvanise the electorate, especially young voters?

Rafizi launches petition against holding GE15 during monsoon season

Frans Rozario: Every voter has a right to vote. It is the duty of every citizen to do so and in some countries voting is compulsory.

A nation deserves the government it elects. If the majority want a crooked and corrupt government, so be it. It is on these grounds that every voter must be ensured one’s right to vote is unobstructed.

The authorities must ensure that voting is carried out at the most suitable times, and ensure there is no hindrance to this exercise. That is why in some countries, polling day is a national holiday.

To try and schedule it during the rainy season in a country that has a record for floods during those times is to sabotage the rights of the voter and to short-change the nation.

5impleMind: Nobody knows for sure who will win in an election held during a rainy or flooding season. So, how did that Harapan’s "fear of losing" argument surface?

Consider these:

1. The country's extra burden in terms of the financial implications of holding an election during the rain and floods.

2. Spare a thought for your fellow Malaysians who may not be able to exercise his/her right to vote in an election because of rain and floods.

3. Consider the agony of flood-affected families, especially in rural areas, who would be more concerned about their health and livelihood rather than whether they can cast their vote.

But of course, if your life centres only around a "I am not at all affected by rain or floods" argument, let everyone give you a big round of applause.

Magnanimous46: Having a general election during the rainy and flood season just because of the court cluster's fears and vested interest is sheer madness.

Why would anyone in their right mind want to have the elections during the northeast monsoon when even those on the west coast would be inconvenienced either by rain or flash floods from going to the polling stations?

What is the hurry when we have lived with the illegal backdoor BN/Perikatan Nasional government since March 2020?

Would waiting a couple of months until the monsoon season abates make all that difference to the falling ringgit, the rising cost of living, dwindling foreign direct investment (FDI) and the sputtering economy?

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob owes it to his 'Keluarga Malaysia' not to expose voters to unnecessary perils for nothing more than to stay in the good books of his party president.

Undecided: As long as the present government is still keen on important reforms like political funding, the timing of the general election is a lesser priority.

Without such important reforms, the country will not be able to overcome the scourge of corruption, waste of resources through poor governance and abuse of power.

Coward: We should dump any party that undermines our democracy. I am not one to prioritise a general election over human life and suffering.

I believe that compared to the risk of loss of life and suffering from the floods, having a government that is without proper mandate for a bit longer is the lesser of the two evils. - Mkini