GEORGE TOWN – Selangor DAP veteran Charles Santiago has called on the party to undertake more voter engagement efforts and to redouble its social media outreach following concerns that the voter turnout may be lower than expected.
Santiago said that there are now fears among political insiders that the turnout may be below what was seen in the last general election, which was around 82%.
“We need a high turnout to ensure that the seats won by Pakatan Harapan (PH)-Barisan Nasional (BN) in the past can be defended well. We understand that many urbanised voters may be suffering from political fatigue,” said Santiago in an interview.
It is understandable as the country had to endure four prime ministers in five years as well as a change in federal government thrice while dealing with an economic downturn, inflation and Covid-19, not to mention political overdose.
Penang, Kedah, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kelantan and Terengganu will hold their respective state elections on August 12 with early voting on August 8.
Santiago, a former MP for Klang, said that DAP together with the allies like PKR and BN’s Umno need to conceive a strategy to woo voters to the polling stations.
He said that the future of the country is at stake if seats are predominantly lost to forces advocating extremism and racial ideologies.
“We cannot allow the politics of hatred to take root in the country. The fundamental aspect of the country has always been moderation,” he said.
He also urged PH-BN to prepare sufficiently for possible rough weather, including heavy rain on polling day, while also cautioning about the possibility of high humidity.
“The hot weather may also deter voters from coming out in strong numbers,” he said.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Cantopop star Jackie Cheung’s concerts in Kuala Lumpur on the weekend of the elections may turn off young to middle-aged Chinese voters from voting although the event may be in the evening.
Bringing voters back to hometowns
Meanwhile, Penang DAP secretary Lim Hui Ying said that the party was informed about some nongovernmental organisations wanting to help transport young voters from the Klang Valley to their hometown in Penang or even Kedah to exercise their right to vote.
Lim echoed what Santiago is advocating, saying that there is a need to reach out to more voters to stress the need for them to come out and vote in full force.
“It is their democratic right, and they should fulfil their duties,” she said.
In another development, the Kedah chapter of the Malaysian Association of Hotels chairman Eugene Alan Dass urged hoteliers to offer room rate incentives to lure outstation voters to come home and vote while also boosting domestic tourism.
Dass said that this is not about taking sides, but about supporting voters in exercising their democratic rights.
He also urged travel trade attractions to offer incentives so that travelling voters can also take a short break while casting their votes. – The Vibes, August 4, 2023
