COMMENT | The polling day for the 14th general election has been announced (May 9) and it has created such a big commotion among the people and also in the media. This is the first time in a very long time that it has been set on a weekday (May 9 is a Wednesday).

The reaction has been mixed. Some people were very upset by the fact that they think the government is just trying to make it hard for people to vote because it would mean they have to take leave from work and whatnot. Some people thought it was fine.

But of course, the majority of Malaysians (or at least the ones who scream the loudest on the internet) felt that it was not okay to have the election day on a working Wednesday. And they have gone on to try and prove it so much.

One of the most popular arguments is that in the last general election in 2013, the highest number of voters came out to vote, making the 13th general election the current Malaysian record holder for voter turnout. More than 80 percent of registered voters went to the polls.

Although it didn’t show in terms of the end result because BN, the incumbent, continued to form the government, the popular vote went to the opposition. About 51 percent of the voters had actually voted for the opposition...