DEAR Rafizi,

You have recently announced that you will conduct weekly campaigns on the Ayuh Malaysia platform to woo fence-sitters and first-time voters for PKR and Pakatan Harapan (PH) voters in key seats.

You said your campaign will involve ceramah and group discussions with experts and the public to find solutions to the country’s problems.

You also predicted that the general election will be held most probably in September or October.  

Based on this prediction, you and your team have only three months to convince the voters.

We, a group of fence-sitters, would like for you to promote the following ideas to your coalition leaders.

Name all the candidates contesting the PH banner even before the dissolution of parliament. This will minimise backstabbing and allow the selected candidates to start courting the voters early.

Each candidate has to submit a plan for the next five years on what they propose to do for the constituency and how and when they propose to achieve the plan.

Should there be more than one candidate for a particular constituency, and to ensure transparency in the selection process, it must be made known to the candidates that the one who raised the most money and has a more achievable five-year plan will be selected.

The introduction of this method will not only reduce politicking during the selection process, but also allows candidates to compete and showcase their abilities to lead.

Let these candidates familiarise themselves with the local electorates and vice versa.

Voters are aware that party allegiances come cheap and that the elected representative may defect. 

Thus fence-sitters like us are especially concerned and wish to see how PKR and its partners can prevent political defections from exploding in our face again. Do not give the excuse that the proposed anti-party hopping law will address this issue when the whole country is still waiting for it to be legislated.

Candidates must have integrity and high morals; they must be principled and believe in the struggle. Let the voters evaluate them and judge for themselves whether they are who they claim to be.

Name your prime minister and cabinet.

The PH cabinet was full of duds who were deaf, mute, and blind.

In the next general election, many voters will want to know that their election representative is going to make good on his or her promises and not scuttle off to the next party offering them better incentives.

We look forward to you to seeing you build up the confidence of young people in our government and teaching them to looking beyond elections as an event but as a vehicle for change. 

You know it is important to get young people to participate early so that they appreciate the importance of engaging politically in a responsible and ethical manner. There are many temptations in politics. There are no easy approaches, shortcuts or quick wins.

Malaysians are generally a tolerant and accommodating lot. 

But for how long will will tolerate and accommodate the disruptive and ever-encreasing shenanigans of the present crop of politicians? – June 23, 2022.

* FLK reads The Malaysian Insight. 

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.