Activist calls upon politicians to run campaigns for election virtually

KUCHING: Social activist Voon Shiak Ni hopes that politicians would opt for running their campaigns virtually in the 12th state polls as a way to curb the spread of Covid-19.

She said based on public feedback that she had gathered so far, it indicated that the community was still concerned about the risks of coronavirus infection during the election period.

“We are all aware that we are living with the virus, which has not gone away yet. In this respect, politicians should go virtual when it comes to running their election campaigns,” she said in a statement Friday.

According to Voon, some constituents have already decided who to vote for and thus, holding physical election campaign on the streets or through public walkabouts would not make much difference.

However, she opined that the next state election could record a low turnout, given that many people were still concerned about the spread of Covid-19.

“Quite a few countries have pushed through with their elections amidst the pandemic, such as South Korea, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Singapore and Indonesia.

“However, these countries opted for virtual campaigning in view of the raging pandemic – not allowing large gatherings of people, with the campaigning and talks being run mainly on social media,” she said.

Voon pointed out that in Singapore, public gatherings for election campaigns were banned and permits would not be given for such rallies.

“Most of their (Singapore’s electoral) campaigns were conducted via forums on social media.

“I hope that Sarawak could opt for virtual political campaigns and rallies, with specific mitigation measures and health checks measures to contain the spread of Covid19,” she stressed.