KUALA LUMPUR – To prevent a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Election Commission (EC) should disallow “old norms” such as house visits, gatherings and ceramah during campaigning for the Melaka elections, said the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).
MMA president Dr Koh Kar Chai said virtual campaigns can be implemented for the polls to avoid all forms of physical campaigning.
“In the best interest of the people’s health and safety, the usual ‘old norms’ of political campaigning that involve house-to-house visits, gatherings, and ceramah should be avoided.
“We may be in the recovery phase of the pandemic, but we are still not out of the woods. Therefore, digital or virtual platforms should be used to campaign in order to prevent another surge of Covid-19 (cases),” he said in a statement here today.
Dr Koh said if politicians truly have the best interests of the people at heart, they should show it by choosing safe ways to campaign and not put people at risk of contracting Covid-19.
“It matters not that we have a high vaccination rate of over 90%. Covid-19 is still spreading even among the fully vaccinated who can be infected and transmit the disease to individuals who are at high risk, and the unvaccinated which include children aged below 12,” he said.
EC chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh had announced that the state elections will be held on November 20, with the nomination of candidates on November 8 and early polling on November 16.
The election was called following the dissolution of the state assembly on October 4. – Bernama, October 20, 2021
