SIBU, June 9: Sibu MP Oscar Ling has been appointed as DAP Sarawak’s campaign director for the coming 15th General Election (GE15).
Ling in a statement today said he was appointed to the position by Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
He explained that as the campaign director, he will be responsible for formulating and deploying DAP’s Sarawak campaign mechanism and strategy.
Ling expressed his gratitude to DAP for their trust in appointing him to this important post.
Touching on GE15, he opined that it would not be an easy one for the party.
“The next general election is not an easy task as seen from the state elections in Sarawak, Malacca and Johor. It can also be seen that after the Sheraton Move and the impact of the epidemic, many people are beginning to be disappointed in politics,” he noted.
Coupled with concerns about the epidemic, the number of people who came out to vote in these three state elections were much lower than before, and the turnout rate hit a record low, he said.
On Undi18 which will add 5.8 million new voters, he said if these first-time voters are not keen to vote, it will further reduce the turnout percentage.
He believes that voting in the current general election may only be maintained at around 50 per cent in urban constituencies, but the turnout rate in rural areas will be high because of the proliferation of money politics, such as incentives to encourage voters to come out to vote.
Ling acknowledged that for the upcoming general election, DAP will faced with many challenges and difficulties such as how to restore the people’s confidence in Malaysia’s democracy, and then arouse the enthusiasm of young people to vote.
“In addition, due to the epidemic, the number of people returning to vote from overseas will definitely drop sharply. To appeal to everyone to go home to vote, we must show everyone that the country needs their vote to make changes,” he said. — DayakDaily
