‘Senseless SOPs in Malacca polls should not be repeated in S'wak’
Electoral reform group Bersih has called on the government to ensure that standard operating procedures (SOPs) against Covid-19 that "did not make sense" will not be repeated in the upcoming Sarawak election.
During the 12-day campaign for the Malacca polls which took place last week, physical campaigning was completely banned.
Bersih said this cannot be the case in Sarawak which has...
Electoral reform group Bersih has called on the government to ensure that standard operating procedures (SOPs) against Covid-19 that "did not make sense" will not be repeated in the upcoming Sarawak election.
During the 12-day campaign for the Malacca polls which took place last week, physical campaigning was completely banned.
Bersih said this cannot be the case in Sarawak which has a vast terrain and poses many challenges.
"Bersih urges that the SOP be thoroughly reviewed so that the SOP that does not make sense like in the Malacca polls will no longer be repeated in the Sarawak election.
"Given geographical factors, lack of infrastructure, and very limited access to information in Sarawak, especially in the rural and suburbs, face-to-face campaigning is a need and has to be allowed.
"Contesting candidates have the right to communicate campaign information to their voters.
"Meanwhile, for the voters to make an informed decision in the election, the government through the Election Commission (EC), the Health Ministry, and the National Security Council (NSC) must issue a new SOP that is fairer to all in order to create a level-playing field," Bersih said.
In a statement, the Bersih steering committee added that the SOP should also be issued as early as possible, before nomination day, so that all parties have enough time to prepare.
The SOP for the Malacca polls was only announced on nomination day.
Suppressing voter turnout
Bersih also expressed concerns at various issues with the Malacca polls that could have suppressed voter turnout.
Among others, it said, was the 12-day campaign period that was deemed too short for Sarawak. Sarawak has around five times the population of Malacca and is 450 times larger geographically.
"Sarawak is the largest state and has the largest number of state seats in Malaysia. Such a short campaign period will not do justice to the voters involved and the candidates who are contesting.
"For the record, the by-elections held after the 14th General Election (GE14) and the Sabah polls were all allocated 14 days or more for the campaign period.
"The ideal period for campaigning time is at least 21 days for the Sarawak polls this time so that postal votes can reach the ballot box in time and candidates and political parties have more time to campaign in this highly controlled situation under the pandemic," it said.
The group is also worried about the spiralling cost of flight tickets from Peninsular Malaysia to Sarawak.
"Bersih also proposes that at least one special polling station be set up in each state to allow Sarawak voters who are living in those states to cast their votes without having to fly back to Sarawak.
"There are an estimated 250,000 Sarawakians living in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. A recent check on the flight tickets to Sarawak from the peninsula is almost RM3,000.
"This is extremely unfair for Sarawak voters, especially the majority who can't afford such expensive travel expenses, as they would be deprived of their right to vote.
"It is also impossible for voters to commute twice in a short period of time as Christmas Day falls the following week," it said.
It also urged the government to declare polling day on Dec 18 as a public holiday to facilitate voting.
EC has set nomination day for the upcoming Sarawak polls on Dec 6 and polling day on Dec 18 after a 12-day campaign period. A total of 82 seats will be contested.
