While most Malaysians are concerned that heavy rain and floods will cause a low voter turnout rate in the 15th General Election (GE15), UMNO secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said that there is no excuse for people to not cast their vote.
Speaking in an interview aired on Astro Awani’s ‘Agenda Awani’ programme on Tuesday (18 October), Ahmad Maslan said voters could still go to polling centres even if it rained heavily and all they need is an umbrella.
He explained that it is better for the public to cast their votes as those who do not go out to vote will leave their future to those who do.
“Why not go out and vote? It’s not like there will be riots. In fact, we have had 14 general elections and there hasn’t been any riot.”
“If it’s raining, use an umbrella. In my opinion, voters must go out. Casting your vote will bring a sense of satisfaction and one can choose the best candidate to ensure a peaceful and prosperous country. And of course, the best party is Barisan Nasional,” he said.
Meanwhile, he also predicted that GE15 will see a 75% voter turnout rate. He said that the prediction was much lower than the voter turnout in GE14 which stood at 82.32%, but it is still a good reflection of effective democratic process.
“The 75% prediction is a good number to get a good election result,” he said.
#PRU15: 75 peratus angka keluar mengundi sudah cukup baik – Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, Setiausaha Agung UMNO#AgendaAWANI #MalaysiaMemilih #ICYMI pic.twitter.com/ngqRN40Wkt
— 🇲🇾Astro AWANI🇲🇾 (@501Awani) October 19, 2022
What nonsense is this?
Naturally, Ahmad Maslan’s remarks did go well with netizens and many took it online to criticise him for missing the point.
“Please tell this to the flood victims. If you are going to campaign with this, you’ll get chased out,” a netizen said.
“The issue is not with using an umbrella, but the safety of the people when they are going out to vote. The risk of flood is much higher during the monsoon season,” another netizen said.
mmg la, kalau banjir pakai payung juga ke? tak hensem takpe dato, jgn bodo.
— Argypt 🏴 (@ajipkasa) October 19, 2022
According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), Malaysia will experience the Northeast Monsoon starting September and it lasts until the end of the year.
During this period, many locations throughout Malaysia will face the risk of flooding.
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts!
, UMNO secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said that there is no excuse for people to not cast their vote.){kind=link}