By Maizatul Jamny Muhammad Rosli and Lucia Terey Anak John
KUALA LUMPUR: The proposal for the state and general elections to be held simultaneously is practical as it can have a positive impact on voter turnout, according to experts.
Political analyst Prof Datuk Dr Nasrudin Mohammed said having both the state and general elections together would be a nationwide exercise and it can lead to a pack mentality that will trigger an interest, attention and enthusiasm beyond the norm.
“This is a good proposal because it, among others, saves costs and time. However, it involves very complex planning and administration, especially for the Election Commission (EC).
“The simultaneous implementation of the state and general elections is not impossible but needs in-depth scrutiny and taking into consideration many elements, be it for the government, political parties or voters,” he told Bernama.
Yesterday, Negeri Sembilan Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun said future state and general elections should be held simultaneously because it is easier and the people also need not have to spend money to return to their hometowns several times to vote.
He said the percentage of voter turnout in Saturday’s (Aug 12) six state polls showed a decrease in almost every voting stream, which could be due to difficulty getting leave from employers to go out and vote.
Based on the EC data yesterday, Terengganu recorded the highest percentage of voter turnout of 74.79 per cent in the state polls, followed by Kedah (73.86 per cent), Penang (72.67 per cent), Selangor (72 per cent), Negeri Sembilan (68.35 per cent) and Kelantan (60.96 per cent).
Commenting on the percentage of voter turnout, Nasrudin said the trend of voter sentiment in the state polls this time differed from the previous general election, especially involving factors like locality, local issues, costs and unsuitable time to return to their districts to vote.
However, he said these factors did not affect voters on the East Coast, especially Terengganu, as their orientation towards political participation through elections was quite focused and their commitment was very solid.
“Kelantan voters, meanwhile, were confident that the ulama leadership, through PAS, is almost impossible to be toppled, more so when issues like DAP, which is said to have a big say in the current government’s political decisions, were constantly played out via social media.
“The percentage (of voter turnout) for Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan showed voters leaned towards issues in their localities and also reflected their level of confidence in the expected election results,” he said.
Meanwhile, political analyst Dr G. Manimaran said the proposal that future state and general elections be held simultaneously should be considered because, based on his observation, many are confused about the need to vote separately.
“There are some who feel that since the general election had been held, why is it still necessary to vote again this time (in the state polls). They do not see the difference, especially the young people, because they are not as exposed to the election process and the importance of their votes in the government’s formation.
“Because of that, I feel there is also a need for election literacy so that the community understands that the election process is equally important as our responsibility in filing and declaring our income tax return forms,” he said.
The author of the book titled ‘Pilihan Raya Demokrasi Malaysia: Tanding, Pilih, Tadbir dan Menang’ hoped that the EC can provide facilities to make it simpler for the people to fulfil their rights in the future.
He said this included creating centralised polling centres in states not holding elections to ensure those who are outstation can still fulfil their responsibilities although they cannot return to their states of origin because of time constraints, job demands and costs. – BERNAMA
