MELAKA – During a typical election season, one would see some “rockets”, “scales”, “moons”, “eyes” and slogans at every corner.
The war of flags and banners often colour every street as contesting parties jostle for precious space on street lights, poles and walls.
You might also chance upon banners with pictures of contesting candidates along with slogans to entice supporters.
However, that is not the situation in Melaka. Just a day before nomination day for its polls, the state seems to be in a fairly subdued mood.
Observations by The Vibes found that there are only a handful of flags from Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN), Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PAS being hoisted in constituencies in urban, suburban and rural areas of the state.
As seen in previous elections, party colours would explode in a flurry of flags and banners, especially at intersections, main roads, buildings, walls, kopitiams and even in sundry shops days ahead of nomination.
The dampened election spirit could be due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has plagued the nation for almost two years.
Who’s the YB, now?
Among the interesting flags is one featuring former DAP man-turned-independent Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee.
The black-and-white flag with the slogan “Kaw YB ke aku YB” (Are you the politician or am I?) stands out in Kg Sarang Helang as it was hoisted on a tall bamboo pole.
He is considered a polarising figure, whose previous antics in and outside the Melaka assembly courted national attention and criticism.
Yesterday, he announced that he will defend his Pengkalan Batu seat, fending off another four challengers.
It is understood that “Aku YB ke Kau YB” is a slogan that is synonymous with Norhizam as it is his Facebook handle.
This came after he had a heated argument with villagers of Kg Pulau Nibong when he was heard shouting: “Siapa YB? Awak YB kah saya YB?”.
His outburst had courted critics who lambasted him for his rude behaviour in communicating with his constituents.
However, it is unsure whether the flag is part of Norhizam’s “gimmick” as part of his campaign.
Skirting EC regulations
The lack of campaign materials on the streets could also be due to political parties being more cautious of not violating election laws by putting up their flags before nomination day.
Political parties are only allowed to exhibit their campaign materials during the campaigning period, which will take place today after the nomination process is completed.
That is as stipulated in Section 24B(4) of the Election Offences Act 1954.
However, past years have seen election machinery, particularly government parties, ignoring the rule and go ahead putting up flags before the nomination.
It is also understood that parties are adopting a wait-and-see approach on campaign standard operating procedures (SOPs), which has yet to be announced by the Election Commission (EC).
According to a report by Bernama, political parties are being cautious as several flags have been taken down by local authorities.
The Melaka election was held following the dissolution of the state assembly on October 4, after four assemblymen withdrew support for former chief minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali of Umno.
The EC has fixed November 20 for voting, today for nominations, and early voting on November 16. – The Vibes, November 8, 2021
Additional reporting by Amar Shah Mohsen
