PKR unveils website for Malaysians to nominate GE15 candidates

PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli has unveiled a new website that will allow Malaysians to nominate themselves as a candidate of his party for the 15th general election (GE15).

At a press conference today, he said the initiative will enable PKR to “widen its talent pool.”

“Those who are interested can register at calonkeadilan.org. The website has been launched today and will be online until next Thursday (Oct 13).

“However, if Parliament is dissolved tomorrow or next week, the party will close entries earlier,” said Rafizi at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Selangor today.

He said the party anticipates 10,000 registrations nationwide.

Nominees will be assessed based on their social standing, social media influence, and role in the party, he said.

Within each seat, five top candidates will be shortlisted and deliberated by PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and Rafizi - who is also the election director of the party.

This is not the first time PKR has used technology to deal with party affairs. In April, it used the Adil app to facilitate voting in the party polls.

Rafizi - who deemed the move a “political innovation” - said the site will work as a “fair” platform for Malaysians who wish to take a stab at political work.

Further, he said the move will help push for the reform of the local political culture of “apple-polishing” and “brown-nosing”.

“This will also remove the ‘warlords’ factor. In the past 60 years, a person will become a party candidate, and eventually a senior minister, simply by currying the favour of top leaders.

“It did not matter what their talents were. Their track record with the public did not matter either.

“It is a risky move but we are trying to convince voters that the party intends to shortlist only the best candidates for GE15,” he said.

The initiative was implemented based on a study done by PKR’s research wing looking into voting patterns and shifts in the sentiments of voters in the last two years.

Flood volunteer database

On a separate matter, Rafizi also announced a new volunteer database that will coordinate flood relief efforts and prepare for the year-end monsoon season.

The volunteer database can be found at sukarelawankeadilan.org.

It is projected that the east coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang will experience peak rainfall in December - while all other states in Peninsular Malaysia are expected to experience peak rainfall in November.

Rafizi said that the site is for volunteers who often wish to help flood victims but do not know where to go to assist in relief efforts.

The volunteer database initiative will be headed by Penang PKR Youth chief Fahmi Zainol.

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