Perikatan Nasional’s campaign rhetoric failed to meet the mark of a fair election

In the recently concluded general election, Perikatan Nasional unexpectedly won 73 seats.

But many of these seats were not won in the spirit of democracy.

For the spirit of democracy to flourish, the machination that goes into the process of choosing a government must be free, fair and open. Most importantly, speeches must be devoid of hate, dishonesty and threats of violence.

Politicians’ speeches touching on policies must be based on honest intellectual discourses – not falsehoods – so that voters can make informed decisions based on such a discourse.

In a democracy, governments are chosen through general elections, which is akin to a big marketplace for aspiring parties to ‘sell’ their manifestos to voters to entice them to vote for their respective parties, without spreading fear, hate or lies.

Unfortunately, a number of Perikatan Nasional politicians allegedly did not come out to campaign fairly.

Some heavily pawned their political wares on social media to spread and generate fear and racial hatred.

Many Perikatan Nasional politicians have become practitioners of divisive and shallow politics. Their rallies hardly touched on any substantial policy matters that were of interest to the people.

One prominent PN politician’s only answer to PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli’s volley of Pakatan Harapan policies was that he has “crooked teeth”.    

As a result of the disinformation generated and spread through TikTok, an atmosphere of hate and fear was created, which drew many frightened and angry voters.

All these negate the spirit of democracy and, as such, these Perikatan Nasional’s politicians have not yet earned the complete trust of many more people.

Finally, I believe Perikatan National is not qualified to govern multi-racial Malaysia.

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama

1. Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
2. Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
3. Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
4. Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
5. Lawan rasuah dan kronisme

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