THE opposition may adopt door-to-door campaigning as one of its campaign methods in the Malacca state elections due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This method is crucial to reach out to voters if public talks are not allowed or limited in size.

Malacca DAP chairman Tey Kok Kiew said Pakatan Harapan (PH) parties are still awaiting the Election Commission (EC) to issue standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the campaigning period, which will start on November 8. Polling will start on November 20.

“Even with SOPs, we expect to face challenges in campaigning. DAP hopes that it will get equitable and fair coverage, including airtime, by government-controlled media.”

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had yesterday said his ministry will present the guidelines for the polls to the Covid-19 Pandemic Management Committee. However, he did not reveal the guideline details.

On concerns that the Malacca elections may result in a surge in Covid-19 cases like after the Sabah elections last year, he said the ministry will ensure the incident will not recur.

The Malacca electoral roll comprises 482,550 regular voters, 10,191 military personnel and their spouses, 2,349 police personnel and 106 absent voters who are overseas.

Tey said all efforts will be made to reach voters, including door-to-door campaigning and online media, as “there is no other way but to use all available avenues”.

On candidate selection, he said discussions are ongoing among PH components, with the DAP election machinery expected to be launched next week.

Alor Gajah PKR information chief Md Yusof Abdullah said the party is also awaiting EC guidelines.

“We will be preparing for the Paya Rumput area, where state PKR information chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin will be contesting.

“We have gathered the information and will zoom in on the localities that have a big population.”

He said PKR, too, is planning to hold door-to-door campaigns in small groups.

“Once campaigning starts, we will have a maximum of two people going from door to door. We will brief voters on why PKR is contesting and hand out pamphlets.”

There are 127 localities in Paya Rumput, with 26,567 voters, he added.

“We will not be able to cover all (localities), so we will focus on 10 localities with more than 1,000 voters, as they vary in different areas. If we have time, we will go to the smaller localities.”

On online campaigning, Yusof said it will be centralised by a team for the whole of Malacca.

The Malacca government collapsed after four assemblymen pulled their support for the Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional state government led by Umno.

The October 4 defection was led by Umno strongman Idris Haron (Sg Udang-BN), with the support of Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor-BN), Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu-Ind) and Noor Effandi Ahmad (Telok Mas-PN).

The governor then announced the dissolution of the 28-seat state assembly, paving the way for polls. – October 22, 2021.