A campaign has been launched to encourage voters to choose candidates for their abilities and not because of their parties.

The “My Vote, My Choice” campaign is led by the Civil Awakening Movement of Malaysia and supported by six other NGOs as well as residents associations.

Civil Awakening Movement's chairperson Jenice Lee, who read out the group's joint statement during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today, said that despite the existence of two main political coalitions, Pakatan Harapan has failed to meet public expectations.

Whereas BN, she said, was undergoing a snail-paced reform process, making it difficult for the coalition to meet the various societal changes.

“Many young and energetic Malaysians had been aggressively pushing for reforms but have since cooled down. Some have even started to advocate casting spoilt votes,” she noted.

Lee warned politicians not to take the people's support for granted, and urged voters to look beyond party affiliations when casting their ballots.

“Voters are advised not to vote just according to a party's logo and ignore the quality of the candidates who represent a party.

“If the people are to call the shots, they must first look at the quality of candidates, and then take other factors into consideration,” she said.

Lee argued this would force political parties to field candidates with calibre and vision.

“If voters blindly support a party without setting conditions, they are in fact encouraging dictatorship within a political party as well as promoting nepotism and cronyism.

“This happens during the selection of candidates as only those who have close relationship with the top leaders will get the chance to stand as candidates,” she said.

Voters' right to cast spoilt votes

The former DAP state assemblyperson further stressed that it is the voters' right to cast their ballot for whichever candidate or to even put a spoilt vote in the ballot box.

However, Lee clarified to Malaysiakini that the campaign was not encouraging people to cast spoilt votes.

“If there are many spoilt votes (that) means both coalitions need to review their policies and quality of candidates.

“If a party does not want people to cast spoilt votes, please show your quality as a party and also the quality of your candidates to convince the people,” she said.

Lee also denied she was attempting to split support for the opposition, stressing that she was just conducting a public awareness campaign.

“If a party is doing good, that party should win handsomely. Why worry about anyone (trying) to split votes or spoilt votes. Those who raise this issue should look at their own quality first,” she said.

Lee confirmed that the group would embark on roadshows soon to educate voters. Details of the roadshows would be announced on the movement’s Facebook page.

The 10 conditions jointly advocated by the group are as follows:

  • The delineation of a constituency must be based on the population and the difference between each constituency should not exceed 15 percent of the population of other constituencies. This is to ensure that the spirit of one person and one vote can be implemented fairly.
     
  • We declare and defend the status of Malaysia as a secular country and we reject any form of religious extremism.
     
  • To restore local government elections, so that voters can directly supervise the local government.
     
  • Abolish draconian laws such as the Sedition Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act and Universities and University Colleges Act.
     
  • The media is being called the fourth power in Malaysia's political structure, with a role of overseeing the performance of the government. Hence, the government or politicians cannot sue the media at will according to their personal preferences in order to prevent the media from exercising its check-and-balance role because the people have the right to know.
     
  • Malaysia is a diverse and multi-ethnic society. We urge to restore English primary and secondary schools as a choice for parents. Different schools create various talented students in various fields.
     
  • Government should treat all schools fairly, therefore all Chinese and Tamil primary schools should obtain a fixed portion of funds from the government yearly.
     
  • Recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and allocate funds to Chinese independent high schools systematically.
     
  • Housing is a basic need for all citizens. Politicians must create an act to avoid any rainfall profits from selling and renting houses to avoid housing speculation.
     
  • Fully implement Freedom of Information Act and ensure everyone can obtain complete documents and information.

The other associations in the movement are the Selangor Golden Age Association, Mahkota Garden JMB, Seksyen 3 KRT, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Persatuan Penduduk Seksyen 7 Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Ampang Kim Eng Welfare Association and Persatuan Penduduk Vista Hill.