COMMENT | How Harapan can motivate disillusioned urban voters

COMMENT | Many urban, middle-class voters have become disenchanted with politics since the Sheraton Move. Several of my friends recently grumbled, “Aiya, no use to vote la, they just jump.”

Somehow, they have totally tuned out of politics and don’t even know (or care) that there is a new anti-hopping law. Many are also disappointed that Pakatan Harapan did not transform Malaysia into “paradise” overnight, while some are still angry over three pages of Jawi-khat. Or school black shoes. Whatever la.

Urban voters are hard to please and quick to complain. They forget that Harapan was hobbled by Dr Mahathir Mohamad's and Bersatu’s reluctance to do real reforms. Moreover, 65 years of racial programming can’t just be waved away like magic. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Yet if I was such a cynical person, some election promises may still motivate me to vote – for my own “selfish” reasons:

1) build more low-rent (but airy) hawker centres (including non-halal sections) in big towns for cheaper food, as done in Singapore.

2) subsidise organic farming, instead of chemical pesticides and fertilisers.

3) build more bicycle (or e-scooter) lanes around LRT/MRT stations so that I can cycle there safely without paying for ever more costly Grab rides.

4) as a hiker and diver, I want our forests and coral reefs to be protected.

5) more shady trees along our city roads, please!

Well, these are not really selfish wishes. Cheaper wantan mee will benefit many, just as better cycling facilities will reduce cars and traffic jams. And healthy coral reefs breed marine life, thus improving fishermen’s catches.

Problem is, political manifestos tend to promise aid mostly to poorer rural folks, so we urban, middle-class voters kinda feel left out! Don’t forget that richer voters don’t depend on the government to survive, so they can easily tune out.

Rural vs urban voters’ desires

In my previous column, I said that the main priority for Harapan’s 2022 election manifesto should be “goodies galore” to win over crucial rural voters.

Umno will accuse Harapan of “unrealistic” promises. The reply is simple. Umno cannot “afford” generous promises because they have to feed “parasites”. Harapan can offer MORE to the rakyat because they have cut away corruption.

PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli said recently that fence-sitters who are disappointed with ALL political parties will decide who wins the election and Harapan needs to woo them with "bread and butter" issues.

But what about us urban voters? Some feel so sick and tired of racial policies and corruption, and have “given up” on this country. One woman told me, “I feel hopeless. Recently, even when wearing pants below knee level, I was not allowed to enter JPJ (government office). The country is going backwards.”

So, it’s not surprising that many just want their children to “get the hell outta here” (emigrate). Will they just stay home and watch Netflix on Nov 19?

Rafizi said in June that Harapan needs 70 percent of its supporters to come out and vote in order to win (only 60 percent showed up in the disastrous Johor and Malacca state elections).

How can Harapan woo these disenchanted voters? What issues will encourage them?

Local council elections, please

I believe one election promise that can motivate the support base is to have local council elections (say, by 2024). Local councils are what affect our daily lives, be it garbage collection or clean drains. Heck, three items on my wishlist above – hawker centres, bicycle lanes and city trees – are under their control.

Currently, local council officials are accountable to the state government that appoints them, not to the residents! With local council elections, we can have a real voice in what happens in our hometowns like Taiping and Segamat, rather than “faraway” Parliament, where politicians always seem to be quarrelling endlessly. It will make politics “relevant” again!

We used to have local council elections but they were abolished back in 1965 probably because left-leaning, non-Malay opposition parties such as the Socialist Front and Labour Party were winning. But our cities are now far more racially mixed and it will probably be Harapan itself that stands to benefit electorally.

So why not promise local council elections? Unless Harapan state governments still want to cling on to their power to appoint local councils?

Other manifesto promises

What else will appeal to urban/semi-urban voters? DAP leader Lim Guan Eng was reported to say that North-South Highway tolls will be abolished if Harapan wins. That’s great!

Of course, Umno scoffed that this was an unreal “recycled” 2018 promise, thus betraying their real fear of its appeal. I hope Harapan gives the “parasite” retort to Umno.

Here’s another suggestion aimed against cronies. Cut out “politically connected” job agencies that charge exorbitant fees to hire foreign housemaids. Better yet, open up recruitment to allow the government, NGOs or private companies to bring in foreign workers (though numbers have to be controlled to protect local workers).

Once we start opening our minds, there are endless ways to wake up frustrated voters. How about hotel and airline vouchers to encourage local tourism? For its part of the Harapan manifesto, Harapan Youth promised that students can fly between West and East Malaysia for only RM199 (twice a year).

This was the most catchy among the 25 promises of Harapan Youth, more memorable than its other commitment to abolish the restrictive UUCA (Universities and University Colleges Act 1971), something which perhaps appeals only/mainly to student activists. If Harapan really wants to set youths on fire, promise them 50GB of free data for Tik Tok and YouTube on their smartphones!

Which brings us to promises of political reform. How many remember that Harapan promised back in 2018 to repeal draconian laws such as the Sedition Act, Sosma and Pota? Po what? Yeah, exactly.

Of course, these promises are important, but I do wonder how many people (apart from lawyers, journalists and activists) care about them. Something more appealing could be a pledge to “Replace Official Secrets Act with a Freedom of Information Act.” The upside is that these reforms don't cost money.

There is one political reform which most voters know or care little about. This was the 2018 manifesto promise to revamp political funding, which was the root cause of 1MDB. The core idea is to remove dark money from politics by having either government/public funding or openly declared (and audited) private donations.

Sadly, both sides of the political divide seem reluctant to do this.

But if we don’t reform this key area, we risk having our politicians becoming “wakil towkay” rather than “wakil rakyat”. This has happened in American politics where big donors “buy over” both sides to get “corporate-friendly” policies.

Marketing the manifesto

As any good marketing person knows, the way promises are packaged is crucial. So, take the 2018 manifesto item “Set up Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).” Many voters still have little idea what this is about.

How about a pledge to “Make our streets and homes safe again for our families by cleaning up corrupt cops via the IPCMC. We want honest, hardworking policemen to ‘jaga’ (guard) your homes from burglars.” Doesn’t that sound a whole lot better?

Similarly, the 2018 promise to allocate 4 percent of GDP for national health. It’s hard for voters to visualise the number of zeros involved, let alone how it will help them.

Why not instead offer an annual private clinic subsidy (of say RM500), not only to the B40 but M40 too? This will help spread some of the crowds away from public hospitals to private clinics. Voters can instantly see the convenience, and they can also choose which doctor they want!

Who knows? With “new and improved” manifesto promises, Harapan may just be able to persuade their disenchanted ex-supporters to turn up at the ballot box.

Perhaps even those intent on “getting the hell outta” this country can spare half an hour to vote and make life better for their friends and family who can’t migrate.

COMMENT | Why Harapan should promise goodies galore

ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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