GE15: Voters to go for personalities, not party’s policies, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal says

SHAH ALAM - Political fatigue may lead the people to vote based on personalities instead of policies in the next election, a minister says.

Deputy National Unity Minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal said there was a need to acknowledge that the previous 14th General Election (GE14) and Sheraton Move caused political fatigue nationwide, especially among the young people.

However, another impact of that was that the people were now also seen to be more inclined to vote for one’s personality instead of the policies brought by the party.

“We all know that because of the political fatigue, voters, especially the young voters are fed-up, disillusioned and perhaps they are choosing the option of not voting in the next election.

“Due to that effect, I believe now supporters are also going for personality, rather than the party.

“But I must say that we as Malaysians are still are very much influenced by political party's identity,” he told Sinar Daily during the Wacana English Edition which went live at Karangkraf Complex, here, yesterday.

The show entitled ‘Budget 2023: For the Election or Averting Economy Crisis?’ was also joined by economist Professor Jomo Kwame Sundarem and Bakri MP Yeo Bee Yin as fellow panellists, which discussed Budget 2023 tabled by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz at the Dewan Rakyat, yesterday.

He also said there should be a balance between policies and the aspects of race and religion in order for people to give their support based on policies by parties.

“I would love to see more political parties focusing on policies, but underlying those substantial debates on policies, one cannot run away from race and religion when it comes to positioning certain matters like culture. Those are parts of policies as well as institutions. “I believe we must balance them and as time goes by, I believe the society will mature and the democracy will become more substantive,” he said.

He expressed his hope for more people to vote based on policies rather than simply for the identity of parties that are a Malay-majority or Islamic party.

Yesterday, the Budget 2023 tabled showed allocations of RM372.3 billion as Malaysia’s second largest budget ever presented as well as an increase of 12 per cent from last year.

However, this year’s budget comes with added uncertainty as talks of dissolving Parliament went around with politicised calls for an early general election to be held at the end of this year.