Party flags are pictured ahead of the 12th Sarawak state election in Kuching December 10, 2021. — Pictures by Yusof Mat Isa
KUCHING, Dec 15 — As campaigning for the 12th Sarawak State Election enters its final lap, one thing is plain to see, and that is due to the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP), proceedings are decidedly lacklustre compared to 2016’s state polls.
Malay Mail’s visits to different parts of Kuching — where ceramah and face-to-face campaigning are prohibited — found that other than flags and banners lining roads, residents were going about their regular routine, and not paying too much attention to party campaigns or their ‘date’ with the ballot box on Saturday.
In fact, it took a while to find voters from Kuching City who were willing to comment on the election, as most politely declined to say anything when approached.
As for those who shared their thoughts with Malay Mail, most observed that this time around, politicians had been largely confined to doing walkabouts in public areas as they were banned from going house-to-house to meet voters — which is an election tradition in Malaysia.
“I don’t know if anyone is campaigning this time around,” said Nora, an executive who will cast her vote in Batu Lintang, to Malay Mail.
She said members of her household were not really aware of the various political parties’ promises or manifestos for her constituency, even as they had been actively promoting their campaigns online through social media.
“Probably because I did not tune into the accounts or channels where they are campaigning, but I remember the atmosphere was more lively during the last election (in 2016), and I actually saw the candidates,” she added.
Her sentiments were shared by Jean, a restaurant worker registered to vote in Padungan, who said that it was hard for voters to get information about candidates unless they actively searched for it.
“If we want to play the part of responsible voters, we need to seek out the information for ourselves.
“Not like last time where there were booths and regular visits to the neighbourhood by the candidates,” she said.
Meanwhile, for Oscar, who returned from Miri to vote in Pending, he said most Kuching voters, especially the Chinese, had already decided who they would be voting for; hence, it was going to take a lot to sway them.
However, he also said that the apparent lack of campaigning would likely make those who did not feel a part of the process even more alienated.
Election Commission officials at the Dewan Badminton Kompleks Perumahan Polis Tabuan Jaya polling station in Kuching December 13, 2021.
“Voters have already decided whether they will vote for the Opposition or the government, most of them at least, and for them, campaigns don’t matter much as they have already made up their mind.
“Some just do not care and will not be bothered,” he said.
Even incumbent state assemblymen felt that this time around, the atmosphere was less festive, apart from obvious political fatigue.
Pending incumbent state assemblyman Violet Yong told Malay Mail that the ban on face-to-face campaigning was unfair to those contesting in the city, as rural voters were allowed to attend ceramah.
“For voters, some elements are missing, such as seeing their candidate in person and talking ‘live’. This has all been taken away.
“Nevertheless, we just do our best, do our walkabout, show our face and interact with the voters as much as we can,” she said.
Yong also noted that some voters are tired of political issues, but was convinced that they will exercise their right to vote.
“Of course, there are some voters who had that reaction, but I believe Pending voters will exercise their right to vote,” she said.
Election Commission officials get the polling station at Dewan Badminton Kompleks Perumahan Polis Tabuan Jaya ready ahead of early voting in Kuching December 13, 2021.
DAP’s candidate for Padungan, Chong Chieng Jen, said last week was a bit quiet and he expressed concern that this might be an early indication of a poor voter turnout.
Chong — who was the three-term state assemblyman for Kota Sentosa before switching back to Padungan, where he first stood for election and lost in 2006 — said his team planned to work harder in the run-up to Saturday to ensure voters come out to cast their ballot.
“Except for the physical flags, posters, lights and social media, it is really quiet.
“I think we need to step out of our walkabouts to increase the turnout.
“State elections (voter turnout) have been below 70 per cent all this while. We don’t know how big the turnout will be, but with expensive air tickets and Covid-19 restrictions, it might be even lower than that,” he said.
Padungan and Pending are two of the state seats under the Bandar Kuching parliamentary constituency, which was a clean sweep for DAP in the last state election.
The Sarawak polls will be the third state election to take place during the pandemic, after Sabah in September last year and Melaka last month.
Early voting was yesterday, with the majority heading to the polls on December 18.
According to the Election Commission, 1,252,014 voters are eligible to vote this time around. The commission also said it expected a turnout of 70 per cent, which would be a repeat of 2016’s numbers.