November 12th 2022. This day should be the start of all out campaign for political blocs before Malaysians casting their votes next Saturday. But as many people observed, there's lack of enthusiasm for the election itself. Political leaders especially the Opposition maybe perplexed but this writer knows why.
Four years ago, there's electric in the air. People were enthusiastic on casting their vote for GE14. Motives are varied but most wanted the incumbent (BN at that time) to be replaced with PH due to outrage over 1MDB debacle or GST. On May 9th 2018, PH took rein as the new government.
But after four years, excitement is no longer around. For normal folks, routine life takes precedence especially in rural areas. These days, their priorities are unemployment, rising cost of living and in some areas, flood.
Ah, the never ending floods which at this time of the year, a norm. But once it struck, it sucks all the excitement with the focus shift to aid management and cleaning up post-flood. If flash flood occurs again in some areas hit with that disaster, the mood for voting will cease to exists.
And then the separate state election. Many have cast their votes in recent state election in Sabah, Melaka, Sarawak and Johor. And to return home again just for the sake of voting are not an option. With bus and flight fares are expensive, that money can be utilized for other purposes including food and monthly bills.
Plus, there's a question that every politicians should ponder: will their votes matter? Yes, Anti-Hopping Act was introduced to prevent MPs and Aduns from switching sides. But with rumors certain political blocs plan to form a secret unity government post-election, some might say voting will be a waste of time. In a nutshell, these voters are too fatigued to "balik kampung".
For urban voters, they might a little more enthusiastic but not as much as four years ago. Like some outside voters, they might ponder not to cast their vote on November 19th due to the same fear - a fact not lost to some political candidates.
Even some young folks don't feel the excitement to cast a vote. Maybe, four years ago, they might go out to do that. But after broken promises and political blocs playing musical chairs that led to the appointment of three different PMs, they had enough.
Undi18 may have give the youth a chance to vote. Plus, The GE15 buzz might be more attractive on the Net for the young ones. But at the end of the day, it has to be translated into actual vote. So, whether they exercise their right on November 19th, that's another matter.
Combined with all of these factors, GE15 might sing the same song like in Sabah, Melaka, Sarawak and Johor: low turnout. And that might hurt Opposition a lot if the same outcome emerged. Will there be a buzz ahead of November 19th like four years ago? Will the Opposition suffers another wipeout just like in recent state elections? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain: no buzz means some parties might cease to exist post-election.
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Mohamad Azim is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav.
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