THE Government must find ways to control flight ticket prices before and after the 12th Sarawak state polls, said an MP.
Dr Kelvin Yii who is Bandar Kuching MP said that this is to ensure maximum voter turn-out and to remove obstacles for eligible Sarawakians to go back to cast their votes.
“A quick search on the internet shows that flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching on Dec 17, which is a day before the election, cost more than RM1,000 just for a one-way flight,” he said.
“This is madness and the Government must do something to allow our fellow Sarawakians to vote.”
With the recent announcement by the Election Commission (EC) that the Sarawak state polls will be held on Dec 18, Dr Yii also called for the election authorities to ensure that clear and specific standard operating procedures (SOPs) that are based on science be implemented to ensure that all political parties can disseminate their messages fairly and clearly.
“There must be fair enforcement to ensure that there are no double standards and SOPs designed to favour any party,” he said.
Dr Yii went on to point out that there should be equal and fair airtime and coverage for all political parties in the media whether it is through the national media channels or via newspaper, television or radio.
While acknowledging that the state election will be held in Dec 2021, Dr Yii was adamant in his view that this is still not the right time to hold the polls.
“We have the advantage of observing and even carrying out a proper assessment of the potential COVID-19 damage from the Melaka polls before deciding to hold our state election.
“But instead, political considerations have trumped health concerns.
“We are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and we should be concentrating on the rollout of booster doses,” he said, adding that the impact of COVID -19 from the Melaka state election can only be gauged in the next two weeks.”
Dr Yii further noted that Undi18 has not been implemented and the state can afford to wait another three months to give this important demographic of youths aged 18 to 20 a voice in the election.
“I have also been pushing for important electoral reforms including absentee voting or postal voting for Sarawakians in Peninsular Malaysia and this have yet to be implemented as well.
“It is important to encourage as many people to participate in the election to give more legitimacy to the election itself,” he noted.
Any attempts against this can be considered “voter suppression”, he stressed. – Nov 24, 2021
