By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Dec 8: N28 Lingga candidate for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is concerned about the number of elderly voters who are still asking where are the blue flags of Barisan Nastional (BN) with their trademark logo depicting scales.
Speaking at a political chat titled ‘Sarawak Election – Young Candidates Hope’ today, Dayang Noorazah Awang Sohor said she and her team had to explain to each voter the reason behind the change in Sarawak’s rulling government from BN to GPS.
“Yes, there are many older folks who are confused. They still ask me where is the dacing (scale) flag. We explained that we are the same ruling government but we have changed the logo to a hornbill and the flag is now white in colour,” Dayang Noorazah said.
Another concern is the inclement weather in Sarawak, which will have a big impact come polling day on Dec 18.
“It has been raining for the past few days, and we expect the weather to remain like this till year end. This will affect the voters turnout.
“We are very concerned that people in villages do not want to come out because of the rain or those who don’t have vehicles and how they will travel to voting stations. The ability to access the voting stations in the rain could be a deterrent.
“It would be unfortunate if the rain determined the outcome of the election. I hope voters will brace themselves for the weather and come out in large numbers to vote,” she added.
In order to overcome such problems, she added that her election team have made arrangements to help fetch voters from their homes.
She also encouraged voters to make sure that those who have vehicles assist those who don’t.
Meanwhile, being the youngest candidate for GPS, Dayang Noorazah, 33, said she was very nervous in the beginning when she was told to represent the party.
The accounting graduate who replaces incumbent Datuk Simoi Peri is facing five others in a six-cornered fight to represent Lingga in the State Assembly.
“The other candidates are seniors in politics, with much more experience under their belt as compared to me. However, after some deep thought, I realised it was an honour not only to be a candidate for GPS, but I am also a woman and the youngest among 82 of us this time.
“With my age, I believe I can understand our youths, accept their ideas, hear their their problems and go all out to help them. This includes the women in our community,” Dayang Noorazah said.
She observed that many women and youths in Lingga are suffering from financial problems, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many have lost their job while a lot of teenagers came to her asking for help.
“These are students, who are suppose to attend school via online classes. However, when their parents lost their job, or facing reduced income, they cannot afford to buy a computer, mobile phone nor subscribe to internet access for any lessons.
“In the end, they came to me asking for a job. It broke my heart to see them in such a situation. I was torn because I cannot employ them due to the being underage (below 18). If I employ them, it means they can help their family with extra income but it comes with a price – they will end up ending their high school education. This is something which I strongly disagree with,” Dayang Noorazah shared.
As such, if elected to represent Lingga, she will go all out in an effort to help youths who’ve lost their jobs by looking at a new approach.
She asked that Lingga voters to continue believing in GPS and her ability to not only develop the constituency but also to look after the people.
Lingga was previously held by Simoi for three terms since 2006.
According to the Election Commission’s latest statistics, there are 9,578 registered voters in Lingga constituency, including 783 (8.17 per cent) ranging from 21 and 29-years-old, and 1,863 (18.45 per cent) between 30 and 39-years-old. — DayakDaily
