GE15: Candidates still opt for face-to-face campaign

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite the vibrancy of virtual campaign, the face-to-face approach continues to be the choice of 'otai' candidates and new faces in the 15th General Election (GE15) in two states in their effort to win the hearts of the electorates before the polling day this Nov 19.

The conventional platform is seen as more 'close and friendly' among the electors who are not only the elderly but also young people through various activities, such as walkabouts in public areas, and community programmes such as gotong-royong, football matches and meeting the surau and mosque congregations.

In NEGERI SEMBILAN, 'otai' candidates like Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who is representing Barisan Nasional (BN) and two Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidates, Anthony Loke Siew Fook and Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, still hold "ceramah" sessions and 'walkabout' programmes in their parliamentary constituencies in Rembau, Seremban and Port Dickson, respectively.

Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate in Rembau, Mohd Nazree Mohd Yunus, approached voters, particularly the young people through futsal sports activities, while the film director Dr Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri, the candidate for Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) in Port Dickson, took advantage of his celebrity status to attract the attention of the electors.

Independent candidate, .Abdul Rani Kulup Abdullah, also known as 'Ayahanda' also used his popularity as a social activist to approach voters in the same parliamentary constituency.

In PERLIS, Datuk Rozabil Abdul Rahman, the BN candidate for the Arau parliamentary seat, opts to organise 'walkabouts' in his campaign by distributing leaflets in public places such as farmers' markets, night markets and bus stations.

He also holds programmes that enable him to get close to padi farmers, e-hailing drivers and the Siamese community.

As for virtual campaigns, social media platforms such as Tik Tok, YouTube are the main choices for candidates to get close to their electors, especially the young voters.

Among the creative ones is by PN candidate for the Kuala Perlis state seat, Abu Bakar Hamzah, who uploaded a seven-minute and 58 seconds video, with the title 'Ayah Cik Janji' to express his determination to develop the area by sharing stories about his hardships as a fisherman's son.

The Election Commission (EC) has set Nov 19 as polling day for GE15, and early voting is on Nov 15.

-- BERNAMA