Malaysia GE 15

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GE15: Warisan to run in seven peninsular states

KUALA LUMPUR – Sabah-based national outfit Warisan is set to contest in seven states in the peninsula in this coming general election.

Party president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said this is to offer voters another option other than the usual coterie of federal parties.

While he kept the number of seats Warisan will be contesting close to his chest, Shafie revealed the states as Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Johor and Kelantan.

This is in addition to the 25 parliamentary seats the party is contesting in Sabah, as well as Labuan.

“We have to work hard not to be overconfident, and that is why we are working so hard being on the ground.

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Zahid: “GE15 hardly a ‘ceremony’ to hand over power to BN without contest”

UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has defended his call for an early general election (GE15), saying that the latest salvo that Barisan Nasional (BN) is power hungry is aimed at creating a bad perception of the coalition.

The Bagan Datuk MP said the accusation by the coalition’s “enemies” is “far from the truth” about the real purpose of an election, which he said means handling back the right and mandate to the people to elect a new government.

“General, local or state elections are a democratic process through the ballot box that can be participated by any political party or eligible individual,” he said in a Facebook post.

“GE15 is hardly a ‘ceremony’ that hands over the power of the country’s administration to BN without contest. Rather, it is a voting process [for the people to decide who should run the country].

“Therefore, how is BN even power-hungry when GE15 returns the full mandate to the people to determine the future of the country?”

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Set an age limit of 60 on election candidates, says analyst

Mujibu Abd Muis of Universiti Teknologi Mara said the age limit for candidates should be set at 60. Candidates should also undergo a health check to avoid having to call any by-elections later on.

Mujibu was commenting on the decision of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is 97, to seek re-election at the coming general election.

He acknowledged that parties in power will want to choose candidates according to the party’s needs.

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Umno/BN has no answers, no communications strategy, and much less money

Despite the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10 and the prospect of elections taking place anytime between now and Dec 9, it comes as no surprise that the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is as unprepared as it has ever been.

Remarkably, information chiefs Shahril Hamdan and Wan Agyl Wan Hassan have candidly admitted that the once mighty ruling coalition lacks proper social media infrastructure and a communications strategy, a problem exposed by political analyst Romen Bose to FMT earlier this week.

According to Bose, the same people who led Umno/BN to defeat in 2018 using “disastrous branding and election strategies” are still at the forefront of its efforts this time around.

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Battle royale set for Kuala Langat hot seat

KUALA LUMPUR – Parliament’s dissolution on Monday has already set tongues wagging with potential candidates eyeing federal seats nationwide.

In the semi-urban constituency of Kuala Langat, located roughly an hour away from the capital here, a multi-cornered fight is expected to take place for the 15th general election (GE15).

The constituency had 102,406 registered voters in 2018, comprising 71.4% Malay voters, 13.5% (Indian), 12.08% (Chinese) and 3.5% (other ethnicities), including a good number of Orang Asli consisting of the coastal-based Mahmeri tribe and forest-based Temuan tribe.

While incumbent MP Datuk Dr Xavier Jayakumar won the seat on a PKR ticket with a resounding  17,112-vote majority during the 2018 general election, the former water, land and natural resources minister has since left the party and joined fledgling Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM).

PBM, helmed by incumbent Ampang MP Datuk Zuraida Kamarudin, is trying to join the Barisan Nasional (BN) stable – which, if successful, could pave the way for Xavier to defend his seat under its banner.

While the 69-year-old veteran has kept mum about the matter, sources within the Kuala Langat political sphere have said that the former PKR vice-president is keen to defend the seat if the opportunity presents itself.

The challenge for Xavier, nonetheless, lies in gaining enough trust from the voters and the reflection of his groundwork so far due to his departure from PKR under controversial circumstances in 2021.

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BN seat allocation with 30% women candidates to be finalised soon: Zambry

KUALA LUMPUR – Seat allocations for Barisan Nasional (BN) will be finalised soon with a target of having 30% candidates for the upcoming elections (GE15), said its secretary-general Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir.

In a statement following a leadership meeting yesterday evening, Zambry said the BN supreme council has agreed to field new candidates who were “winnable, acceptable, and likeable” in its bid to win GE15.

He also said the council had agreed on the theme of its GE15 manifesto titled “stability and prosperity”.

“BN is committed to ensuring the welfare of the people is consolidated and that the sovereignty of the country is protected through offering pro-people policies that would spur solid and comprehensive socio-economic development,” he said.

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Time to vote: Our 3 proposals for GE15

YESTERDAY, caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that he had received approval from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament immediately. This means that the 15th General Election (GE15) season has officially begun.

While the nominations and voting dates have yet to be confirmed, the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) believes that the Election Commission (EC) should give a three-week campaign period for each party.

Below are the suggestions (and the advantages) listed by KLSCAH for extending the campaign period to 21 days so that all political parties can have more time to choose the best candidates and prepare for GE15.

This will also allow both local and overseas voters to exercise their right to vote and fulfil their civic duty.

1. Fine-tune the overseas voting process: Overseas voters will have more time to mail their ballots back to Malaysia with the extension of the campaign period to 21 days. They will avoid losing their right to vote as a result of delays in ballot dispatching. In addition, the EC should consider the possibility of allowing eligible overseas voters to digitally download their ballots from the official EC website. This is to simplify the application procedure for overseas postal votes, and to save unnecessary election expenses incurred in the printing of postal ballots.
   

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YOURSAY | Make Umno pay for GE in monsoon season

OCT: Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaacob’s 'Keluarga Malaysia' (Malaysian Family) is a facade to fool the rakyat that it is a caring government when in fact the government is so inhumane as to call elections during the monsoon season.

The Meteorological Department has warned that this year’s monsoon will be fierce. The YDP Agong has advised the rakyat to be prepared. The government thought otherwise. Instead of investing time and resources to prepare for floods and landslides, they are preparing for elections.

The government is foolhardy to prioritise elections over floods. The government thinks human lives are expandable with no value except their votes.

The current term of this government is coming to an end, and after having a backdoor government for over two years, another few more months is of little consequence.

There is no necessity to push for an election during monsoon season except for the obvious reason that Umno politicians are desperate to stay in power so as to plunder with impunity and avoid prosecutions. Those under detention may even get a free pass out of jail.

The rakyat can clearly see how corrupted and crooked these Umno politicians are. Let's put all our differences of race and religion aside and stop Umno from being the government. This is a clarion call.

We have ourselves to blame if they win. We must all vote. It's the least the rakyat should do.

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Dr M’s game plan ‘to exploit split election and be PM again’

PETALING JAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamad, by seeking re-election in Langkawi, could be hoping to exploit a split general election and offer himself to be prime minister again, says a political analyst.

However, another analyst said that even if Mahathir won re-election, his influence was fading and he would be unable to help propel his new Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition into mainstream politics.

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‘Stability and Prosperity’ main theme of BN manifesto

KUALA LUMPUR: The Barisan Nasional (BN) Supreme Council has agreed that the main theme of its manifesto for the upcoming general election (GE15) is “Stability and Prosperity”.

BN secretary-general Zambry Abd Kadir said this was agreed upon at a BN Supreme Council meeting held at Menara Dato Onn here last night.

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