KUALA LUMPUR: The latest wave of COVID-19 cases seems to have thrown a spanner in the works of campaigning in the 15th general election (GE15).
Nevertheless, electoral candidates and campaign workers are taking the necessary precautions to prevent infection and, if stricken by the bug, are resorting to alternative means to send their message across to the electors.
Electors, too, are exercising caution, by wearing face masks and using sanitisers when attending face-to-face ‘ceramah’ (talks).
All of them are wary of the 57.3 per cent rise in the number of cases to 26,616 in the week ending Nov 5, up from 16,917 in the previous week, as announced by Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on Nov 7.
However, there have been cases of candidates being found positive for COVID-19, due to the highly transmissible nature of the latest variant, and forced to undergo quarantine.
Two Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidates from PKR in Perak had reportedly confirmed COVID-19 positive, namely the candidate for the Simpang Pulai state seat Wong Chai Yi as well as the candidate for the Gopeng parliamentary seat Tan Kar Hing.
Wong, who was confirmed positive on Nov 9, said she had done a video clip for screening by her campaign team at ‘ceramah’. She had also given online ‘ceramah’ while under quarantine.
During the quarantine period, the teams played an important role in ensuring that their candidates’ messages were conveyed to the electorate, and social media and the Internet were used to the maximum to interact with the community.
“Social media is still a platform for me to run my campaign, regardless of whether I am in quarantine or not. I also utilise (the live streaming application) Streamyard at home and project it on a screen at ‘ceramah’ locations besides campaigning live on Facebook,” she told Bernama when contacted.
Meanwhile, Tan, who completed his quarantine on Nov 11, said he conducted a virtual campaign when confined at home.
His campaign team also hooked up video calls for him with the electorate at public places such as food courts and markets.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, who is defending the Larut parliamentary seat in Perak, said his team had sent face marks to constituents to help keep COVID-19 under control as online campaigning in villages can be a difficult task.
“Some groups want to conduct online campaigning but the village community may not receive our message. We have to go down to the ground and campaign from house to house.
“Definitely, we have to meet as many people as possible to explain what we are going to do. We have released our manifesto. Now, we have to provide our explanation,” the caretaker Home Minister said.
In the Gombak parliamentary constituency in Selangor, Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin of UMNO said he adopted the approach of campaigning for small groups.
He had also advised his workers against getting involved in campaigning if they felt unwell.
“I prefer what we call pocket campaigns. We engage with small groups,” he said.
Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Amirudin Shaari, who is the PH candidate from PKR for the seat, said he would not campaign face-to-face if he was unwell as he was well aware of the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
He said he often reminded his election workers and constituents engaged in campaigning to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of COVID-19, including wearing face masks.
Ampang (Selangor) incumbent MP Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said she would resort to getting her campaign workers to conduct the campaigning with the use of video clips to deliver her message if she was stricken by COVID-19.
“I have many meetings with my electorate. I go down to the ground to meet the electors during campaigning. We have to be in touch with the electors.
“Social media is for campaigns at a national level. It is not effective in constituencies,” said the caretaker Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister.
A former Federal Territories Minister, Khalid Abdul Samad, who is the PH candidate from Amanah for the Titiwangsa parliamentary seat in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, said he observed the COVID-19 SOPs when meeting electors, and would resort to online campaigning through video clips, WhatsApp and Twitter if stricken by the bug.
Pejuanita chief of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) Datin Che Asmah Ibrahim, who is contesting the Sepang parliamentary seat in Selangor, said she attached importance to COVID-19 SOPs compliance when meeting electors during campaigning. She also advised the electors to do the same.
“We do not shake hands when campaigning. We have flyers to introduce ourselves. We take precautions by using sanitisers,” she said.
Candidates have to exercise greater caution as campaigning is bound to intensify in the last five days before polling on Nov 19. – BERNAMA
