PETALING JAYA: Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has been asked to reconsider the total ban on physical gathering and instead implement stricter enforcement of the standard operating procedures (SOP) outlined in the National recovery Plan (NRP) by increasing the number of enforcement officers during the period of the Melaka polls.
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) today expressed concern with the announcement by Khairy that all physical gatherings and social activities related to the upcoming Melaka state election will be banned from Oct 25 to Nov 27 in order to reduce the risk of new Covid-19 infections.
“While we acknowledge that the risk is real and precautions are necessary, such a total ban is a suppression of all candidates’ right to campaign and express themselves, the voters’ right to make an informed decision by hearing from the candidates, and ultimately is a suppression of democracy itself,” it said in a statement today.
“Melaka has entered Phase 4 of the NRP on Oct 18 where the SOP on social activities and visitations are allowed, limited to 50% space capacity and physical distancing adhered, the Health Minister’s ruling is inconsistent with the NRP’s guideline as it targets only election-related activities.”
Bersih said it is concerned that the ban would grossly disadvantage those parties who are not part of the ruling government as state media tends to focus almost exclusively on the activities and achievements of ruling parties’ candidates, and highlight failures of the Opposition.
This would render the playing field unfair and reduces the legitimacy of any outcome from the election, it added.
It suggested that the Election Commission (EC) come out with the rules, requirements and alternatives so that the restrictions do not suppress the rights of parties and candidates to campaign.
“(For nomination,) provide for a period of not less than seven days for candidates to file their nomination papers at the Malacca EC office and to have them checked and any mistakes corrected before the end of nomination. Surprise rejections are unnecessary and should be avoided,” it said.
“The list of successful candidates can be displayed online on Nomination day at 10am. This would remove the need for political parties’s supporters and candidates to gather at nomination centres throughout Melaka.”
For the campaign period, Bersih said regulate that chairs must be provided and that they must be at least 1 metre apart, and all attendees must be seated during political gatherings or ceramahs.
“This should apply also to small gatherings at coffee shops and day or night markets. Facemask must be worn at all times by all speakers and attendees,” it said.
“For house-to-house visitations, the number of people allowed to be part of a group be limited to five and they must not enter the house or be at least be 2 metres away from households when speaking.
“The EC could call on government-owned TV and radio broadcast outlets to provide designated time slots for party political broadcast to all contesting parties and independents. Time allotted should be equal regardless of party.
“Broadcast media outlets could play a greater role during this election by organising discussion panel of candidates where local issues are discussed and candidates’ views can be heard.”
Bersih said debates between chief ministerial candidates could be organised and telecast on state television channels at least twice - right after Nomination day, and another two days before Polling Day.
“The EC could provide and sponsor at least one designated billboard display in a prominent location in each of the 28 state constituencies, where the details of the contesting candidates are displayed with their party symbols. This would help smaller parties and independent candidates in getting much needed visibility,” it added.
To reduce crowding during polling, it said the EC could consider extending polling to three days and designate day and time slots for different categories of people according to age groups. This could also reduce the need for multiple salurans (streams) manned by multiple sets of election workers.
“Stringent social distancing, masking and sanitizing SOPs must be adhered to and all election workers must be properly trained to keep themselves and voters safe from infections,” Bersih said.
“Voters who are unvaccinated should not be unduly inconvenienced from exercising their voting rights. A health safety booth could be set up to provide instant RTK-Antigen saliva or nasal swab tests to confirm that they are Covid-19 negative before they are allowed to vote with the other voters. Those tested positive should be allowed to cast their vote separate from the rest within the health booth.”
Bersih also asked for gatherings at counting and tallying centres should also be restricted and all results broadcast live on national TV channels.
