Johor polls: Political parties hope for some relaxation on physical campaigning
Some political parties hope that they are given the space and opportunity to conduct physical and face-to-face campaigning, with some relaxation given to the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the forthcoming Johor state election.
Johor Perikatan Nasional Youth chief Ahmad Nawfal Mahfudz said PN, however, would adhere to the Covid-19 SOP set.
"Whatever it is, we need to look at the current Covid-19 case developments. It’s definitely worrying. However, the social...
Some political parties hope that they are given the space and opportunity to conduct physical and face-to-face campaigning, with some relaxation given to the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the forthcoming Johor state election.
Johor Perikatan Nasional Youth chief Ahmad Nawfal Mahfudz said PN, however, would adhere to the Covid-19 SOP set.
"Whatever it is, we need to look at the current Covid-19 case developments. It’s definitely worrying. However, the social movement is ongoing while the SOP needs to be well-coordinated to prevent the cases from spiking to a more dangerous level.
"For the Johor state election, the important thing is for the space to be given, suffice for the candidates to meet the voters while adhering to the SOP. If it (the SOP) is too tight, campaigning is not conducive,” said Nawfal, who is also Johor PAS Youth chief, when contacted yesterday.
Meanwhile, Johor MCA Youth head Ling Tian Soon (above) said relaxing the SOP for this coming state election would benefit the contesting political parties to get close to the voters in order to achieve their objective.
"However, if the SOP is relaxed, the public and political parties need to be careful as the Covid-19 cases are still being recorded.
Johor PKR deputy chairperson Jimmy Puah Wee Tse said besides allowing political parties to campaign through ceramah sessions while complying with a more relaxed SOP, programmes such as walkabouts would also be important in getting close to the voters in an area.
“If we look back at the Malacca polls, the voters there was no opportunity to interact with the candidates. That was not good because, in a democratic system, it is important for the voters to obtain the views and stand of the candidates on the local and national issues of concern to them," Puah said.
Equal opportunities
Johor Amanah deputy chairperson Dzulkefly Ahmad said a bit relaxed SOP would give equal opportunities to the contesting opposition parties in campaigning in the election.
Yesterday, the Election Commission (EC) chairperson Abdul Ghani Salleh reportedly said that he hoped the Covid-19 SOP would be relaxed to allow for more open campaigning to be conducted.
Ghani said the EC was now discussing the matter with the Health Ministry and National Security Council.
Johor recorded 868 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, bringing the cumulative number in the state to 260,447 and 3,918 deaths from this viral infection.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reportedly said that the infectivity rate (Rt) remained at 1.15 yesterday, with Perlis recording the highest Rt in the country at 1.29, followed by Putrajaya (1.21) and Johor (1.17).
- Bernama
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.