Healthy candidates for a healthier democracy

PETALING JAYA: A clean bill of health should be one of the considerations by political parties when fielding candidates for GE15, to ensure that future lawmakers are able to complete their term, say observers.

Political analyst Dr Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar of the International Islamic University Malaysia said a health requirement is not in the electoral system at this juncture, but it is something that political parties have to consider when they nominate candidates.

“Based on experience, it is best that parties ensure candidates have good health so that they can carry out their legislative and constituency duties effectively.

“That said, in the interest of voters, Parliament can consider making certain health requirements a condition for nomination in elections,” he said.

This is because even for employment, new staffers have to go for medical check-ups.

However, for this to happen, it needs political will, added Tunku Mohar.

Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer Dr Azmil Mohd Tayeb said parties should require that their candidates go through a basic health screening.

“It’s not the Election Commission’s job to determine candidates’ health status,” he said.

However, Dr Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said it is not democratic to require that candidates go through such an evaluation.

“I think it is anti-democratic to mandate such screenings.

“But adequate healthcare should be provided to all elected representatives,” he said.

Dr Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, also said healthy candidates do not necessarily mean that individuals contesting in the national polls should be young.

“Candidates can be veterans. They should not only be healthy physically, but also intellectually,” he added.

Azmi said it is important for candidates to be healthy intellectually, where they can articulate issues that concern the people.

Since GE14 in 2018, two state by-elections were held that year alone after the assemblymen for Seri Setia and Sungai Kandis died of colon cancer and lymphoma, respectively.

In 2019, the Semenyih by-election was held after its assemblyman died of a heart attack.

Meanwhile, the by-election for the Bugaya state seat is set to be held on the same day as GE15 – Nov 19 – after its incumbent assemblyman Manis Muka Mohd Darah died on Nov 17, 2020.

For parliament seats, two by-elections – Sandakan and Tanjung Piai – were held in 2019 after their MPs died of a cardiac arrest and heart attack, respectively.

In 2020 alone, the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat was left vacant after its MP Datuk Liew Vui Keong died from pneumonia in October; while in November that year, the Gerik seat was vacant after its MP, Datuk Hasbullah Osman, passed away due to a heart attack.

Both seats (Batu Sapi and Gerik), however, did not have a by-election due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

A total of four state assemblyman and four MPs have died of health-related issues since the 2018 general election.