INDEPENDENT candidates, who contested and lost in the Malacca state elections last weekend, barely made a dent in anyone’s memory, but the polls were meant to be a test case for new political coalition Piagam Rakyat, founder Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said.

Haniff, better known as a lawyer, said Piagam Rakyat, which comprises candidates with no party affiliation, intends to be an alternative for voters in the 15^th general election.

There were 22 independent candidates in the Malacca polls, 13 of them were from Piagam Rakyat. All of them were defeated by their opponents from established coalitions such as Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional, and naturally lost their deposits.

“The Malacca elections were just a pilot for Piagam Rakyat. The results were expected as we didn’t have time to promote our coalition of independents,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The purpose of Piagam Rakyat, Haniff said, is to introduce to voters the concept of “party-less elections”.

“People are not yet exposed to new ideas that can be an alternative to political parties and coalitions,” he said.

“Voters have grievances caused by party-related issues such as lack of credibility and integrity (of party candidates), but when an alternative such as Piagam Rakyat emerges, they are still not ready to embrace it.”

Haniff said he wants voters to know that elections need not be the monopoly of political parties.

“There was never a coalition of independent candidates before this, so we must educate the people,” he said.

“The first thing to do is to make voters aware that there are non-party-based movements out there.”

These sentiments come as voters grow increasingly frustrated with changes in government as a result of party- or coalition-hopping.

Haniff admitted that it will take time for this concept to gain traction and may only see results after three or four general elections.

“I expect this mission to bear fruit in 15 to 20 years. I may no longer be here then, but this is for the country’s future,” he said.

He added that Piagam Rakyat is not a proxy to any political party and all the independent candidates have signed a statutory declaration and pledge not to join a political party if they win. – November 28, 2021.