MIRI – The official campaign period for the upcoming parliamentary polls in Sarawak should be at least 21 days, said state Pakatan Harapan (PH) information chief Abun Sui.
With logistical woes aplenty now due to floods, landslides and continuous heavy rain increasing by the week, having just 11 or 14 days for campaigning is not enough, he told The Vibes today.
Abun, who is Sarawak PKR deputy chairman, said the Election Commission (EC) must exercise fairness towards all contesting parties.
“A short campaign period is going to benefit the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) as they have the entire government machinery and manpower resources at their disposal.
“They can utilise government vehicles like aeroplanes, helicopters, four-wheel drives, lorries, trucks, big cars, speedboats, express boats, longboats and every other available transportation for the GPS component parties.
“We in Sarawak PH parties do not have such resources at our disposal. We are already facing huge difficulties in our ground movement daily.”
He said the Election Commission (EC) must take into account mounting problems caused by continuous floods, erosion, bad roads, dangerously swelling rivers and so on.
“We need at least 21 days (of) campaigning in order to be able to cover the 31 parliamentary constituencies in Sarawak,” he said.
Failure to allow postal voting ‘illogical’
Separately, Sarawak PKR chairman Roland Engan expressed worry that many Sarawakians living and working or studying in other states may not return to Sarawak to vote in the 15th general election (GE15).
The continuous failure of the Election Commission (EC) to allow these outstation Sarawakians to register as postal voters is frustrating, he said.
He told reporters in Miri that the state PKR wants the ruling GPS leaders to pressure the EC over this issue.
“This will enable them to vote from the places where they are living, working and studying in the other states, especially in Peninsular Malaysia.
“Many of them may not be able to vote this GE15 because they have to come back to their hometowns in Sarawak just to cast their vote,” he said.
Engan said the EC had repeatedly refused to allow these out-of-state Sarawakians to be registered as postal voters.
“This failure by the EC is most disappointing and most illogical,” he said.
Sarawak PKR is contesting in at least 16 of the 31 parliamentary constituencies in Sarawak.
Engan had said it will field candidates in the 16 seats on behalf of Sarawak PH. The other 15 seats will be shared by Sarawak DAP and Sarawak Parti Amanah.
Of the 31 parliamentary seats in Sarawak, GPS controlled 19 prior to dissolution of Parliament on October 10. Independents occupied two seats, and the rest were held by PBM, DAP, PKR and Bersatu. – The Vibes, October 20, 2022
