KUALA LUMPUR: The 14-day campaigning period, from nomination day on July 29 to polling day on Aug 12, set by the Election Commission (EC) for the upcoming six state elections is considered appropriate and sufficient to assess qualified candidates to be selected as representatives of the people.
Voters in Selangor, Terengganu and Kedah, including students, described the usual campaign period as adequate for the country's political parties to develop strategies to win the hearts and minds of the people.
Kamaruzaman Denan, 44, a resident of Kampung Kundang in Kuala Langat, Selangor, said the 14-day campaign period was suitable for candidates to introduce themselves to the people since people now have access to social media to know the candidates better.
"It is important for the candidate to get to know the locals. Polling day on a Saturday is also a good choice," he said when contacted Thursday (July 6).
Mohd Yunus Yakkub, a 40-year-old resident of Lembah Jaya Utara in Ampang, said the longer the election campaign lasted, the more money all parties would have to spend. Therefore, he said, a period of 14 days was sufficient, as was done during the 15th General Election (GE15) in November last year.
"It is important that the welfare of all parties is taken care of during the election campaign period. Election day, which will be held on Saturday, is a holiday for all states involved,” said the Lembah Jaya constituency voter.
For S. Hemananthini, 30, who will be voting in the Kulim state constituency, the campaign period after the nomination of the candidate on July 29, was sufficient for people to know the candidate and their work for the benefit of the people.
A voter from the Guar Chempedak constituency, Nur Aisyah Sabri, 25, said that the election date and campaign period showed that the decision was not made hastily, so voters have the opportunity to make a good choice and elect candidates with calibre.
"The candidates have 14 days to present themselves and win the hearts of the voters. I think this period is enough for the voters to evaluate the actions of the candidates," she said.
Norsyamilah Abdullah, 32, a voter in Sungai Tiang constituency, also in Kedah, said Saturday's election day was good because it would enable people to go and vote and fulfil their duties.
Muhammad Zulkifli Sulaiman, 23, a voter from Kuala Berang, Terengganu, and a third-year Bachelor of Education, Guidance and Counselling student at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), said the polling day gave students an opportunity to return home and vote.
The Terengganu Student Association (Permata) secretary-general said this was because according to the academic calendar, most public university students will be taking their end-of-semester examinations at the end of the month.
"I hope other friends will also take this opportunity to collectively fulfil their responsibility to vote this time," he said.
The Election Commission (EC) announced that the state elections in Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan would be held simultaneously, with Aug 12 set as polling day while July 29 has been set for nomination of candidates, while early voting will take place on Aug 8. - Bernama
