PETALING JAYA: With nominations for the Johor state election over, election and human rights groups have urged candidates to focus on policies instead of divisive rhetoric and to keep the competition fair.
Engage chairman Thomas Fann said the polls would be a test of Malaysia’s democratic maturity, particularly on whether parties with access to federal or state resources could conduct a clean and fair campaign.
He reminded that misuse of government resources to influence voters violates the principles of free and fair elections, adding that such tactics had not always translated into electoral success.
“I want to remind the candidates that Johoreans have voted against the incumbent government in 2018 despite being lavished with all sorts of government grants, projects and promises,” he said. He also urged candidates to avoid exploiting race, religion and royalty (3R) issues or sowing fear among communities.
“Elections come and go, but the wounds and suspicions inflicted on communities can linger on long after the hustings are over.
“The contest should be based on facts and policy ideas, not on demonising opponents. This is especially so in today’s political environment where a hung assembly is a real possibility, and opponents may have to work together post election to form a stable government,” he said.
“Good to see new political players coming to the front, like Parti Bersama Malaysia, Muda and independents,” said North South Initiative (NSI) executive director Adrian Pereira.
“The more diversity there is in politics, the healthier the competition will be at the polls. This also helps break the long status quo in the state, reminding politicians to not take their base for granted.”
He also cautioned against turning refugees into a political issue, describing recent online hostility towards them as a worrying trend that should not become a “fourth R” in election campaigning.
“We must avoid falling into the same trap of becoming unnecessarily hateful towards refugees, like in other countries where many right wing parties took advantage of migration and labour as a talking point,” he said.
Pusat Komas director Jerald Joseph expressed hope that Johor’s increasingly vibrant political landscape would produce more mature and discerning voters to question why the state election was called before the current term expired.
“Maybe it is time for voters to demand for fixed five-year terms and if parties can’t commit to that, don’t vote them in,” he said.
He encouraged voters to look beyond “sweet promises” by evaluating candidates on their commitment to national development, clean governance and racial harmony.
Regardless of the results, politicians and the public should accept them as a sign of shifting times so long as the election was conducted fairly and transparently, he added.
