PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has urged the Election Commission (EC) to disallow all forms of physical campaigning in the lead-up to the Melaka polls.
We may be in the recovery phase in the pandemic but we are still not out of the woods, therefore digital or virtual platforms should be used to campaign in order to prevent another surge of Covid-19, its president Dr Koh Kar Chai (pix) said today.
“We strongly advise against the traditional way of political campaigning as any physical, face to face meetings between politicians and the people can lead to increased close contact and spread of Covid-19 in the state and even nationwide now that interstate travel is allowed,” he said in a statement.
“In the best interest of the people’s health and safety, the usual ‘old norm’ of political campaigning which involves house to house visits, gatherings and ceramahs should be avoided.
“If the politicians truly have the best interests of the people at heart, they should show it by choosing ways to campaign that are safe and not put the people at risk of Covid-19.
For close to two years, the people had no choice but to adapt to the new norms of working from home and communicating using virtual or digital platforms, Koh pointed out.
“Many of us are still using these platforms to prevent possible exposure to Covid-19 through close contact. For these same reasons, politicians should also adapt to the new norms and campaign virtually,” he said.
“It matters not that we have a high vaccination rate of over 90%. Covid-19 is still spreading even among the fully vaccinated who can be infected and transmit the disease to individuals who are at high risk and the unvaccinated which include children below 12 years of age.
“Recently, the Health DG had also expressed concern over the possibility that new variants could emerge from increased close contact during the Melaka polls campaigning period.”
Koh raised the question of who will be responsible if cases surge again in Melaka although the authorities have given the assurance that strict SOPs will be in place.
“The mistakes and failures to control the spread of Covid-19 during the Sabah state elections held last year must not be repeated in Melaka. There has to be and we must all insist on full accountability this time around.
“With most sectors opened now, and the country set on the road to recovery, the people are finally going back to their jobs and businesses to recover from months of losses in income. Children are back to an almost normal schooling life now that schools have reopened. While the frontliners are finally getting some respite with cases of Covid-19 on the downtrend.
“What we don’t need now is another surge in Covid-19 cases,” he added.
