PETALING JAYA: Recent flooding may not necessarily keep people from exercising their rights tomorrow, political analysts said.
They told The Malaysian Insight that parties might use their infrastructure to persuade affected voters to make the journey to the polling stations, while people not directly affected may cast their vote as a way to express dissatisfaction.
Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said the Barisan Nasional may pay the price for calling for an election during the monsoon season.
“People are angry with a government that ignored the advice from the Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia).
“People were already angry in 2018, when the government called an election on a Wednesday.
“Pakatan Harapan made it an issue and promised a day off if it won, and it did. It is the same now, it is an issue and this perception is being used against the government.
“Umno took the risk because it thought it could use the flood as an opportunity to prevent people from voting.
“Of course, if a place is flooded, people cannot cast their ballot but in other places people will go out and make their vote count,” Mazlan said.
Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya’s Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi said parties will try to encourage people to vote.
He said even in affected areas, campaigners have already begun assisting voters.
