Last night I have mentioned to our media friends that the Election Commission had briefed us that for the coming state polls, there will be no open or house-to-house campaigning can be done, and all voters would have to undergo screening, wear face masks as well as practice physical distancing.
Some may say such measures might slow down the voting process but it is still necessary to avoid any risk of getting Covid19 and perhaps if we have more lanes, the arrangement will also expedite things at the polling stations. It is not a problem for us and the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the forthcoming Melaka state election may also be used during the coming Sarawak 12th State Election (PRN12).
But still I was not too sure about this matter because our State Legislative Assembly (DUN) has yet to be dissolved and from what I had gathered, that guideline which was mentioned by our Minister of Health, YB Encik Khairy Jamaluddin, it is meant for the Melaka state election.
But I am sure once our DUN has been dissolved and looking (whether) the Covid-19 cases are still there, I’m very sure – if it is applied to Melaka, then it will also be applied to Sarawak. That should not be a problem. For me, it is good to have certain SOP guidelines for our election.
Even if we cannot go out for campaigning as was done before, it does not mean that democracy has been crippled. If you go to some other countries, they don’t even have that kind of campaigning that we have here. As such, what is important is that the voters as well as the public know who are the contesting candidates, which party they are representing, their academic background and the promises they made… from there, they will be able to judge for themselves whether the candidate is worthy for the votes.
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