Maszlee wants open dialogue to help voters choose

 The PH candidate says it would help voters separate facts from fiction, citing encounters with fear and misinformation on the campaign trail.

Ex-education minister Maszlee Malik said his campaign for the Puteri Wangsa state seat shows that fear and misconceptions continue to influence some voters.

JOHOR BAHRU:

Pakatan Harapan’s Maszlee Malik says voters deserve an open dialogue to hear different views, clear up misconceptions and decide for themselves who is best suited to represent them in this Saturday’s election in Johor.

Maszlee, the PH candidate for Puteri Wangsa, said his campaign had shown that fear and misconceptions continued to influence some voters.

The former education minister recalled meeting the wife of a former soldier who wanted to vote for PH but feared that her daughter, a school clerk, would be transferred if she supported the coalition.

“I told her nobody knows who you vote for. There is fear,” he told FMT, adding that he informed the woman that PH was part of the federal government.

In another encounter, Maszlee said hawkers blamed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for the trader licence fees imposed by the Johor government.

“They asked why they had to pay after Anwar became prime minister. I told them they were paying the state government, not Anwar,” he said.

He said such encounters showed that many voters were still unable to distinguish between the responsibilities of the federal and state governments.

“Whenever something bad happens, they say it’s Anwar’s fault. But whenever they receive something good, including the fuel subsidy, they say it’s the state government.”

Maszlee said this was why a public dialogue was necessary, to address such misconceptions directly.

Yesterday, Johor Barisan Nasional (BN) chief Onn Hafiz Ghazi said there was no need for him to hold a dialogue with Maszlee as he was not challenging the former education minister in the state election. Onn Hafiz said Maszlee should instead focus on those contesting the Puteri Wangsa seat.

Maszlee is one of five candidates contesting the seat in the July 11 polls. The others are Rashifa Aljuneid (Muda), Teow Chia Ling (BN), Nicholas Paul Vincent (Bersama) and independent Wang Wee Siong.

Responding to Onn Hafiz’s call for voters to reject what he described as opposition attempts to win support through slander, provocation and unrealistic promises, Maszlee said such claims should be scrutinised in an open debate rather than traded on the campaign trail.

“This is why we need him to be on the same stage, to discuss what this slander is and what those unrealistic promises are. Let’s discuss them and let the people judge,” he said. - FMT