Gombak's youth and first-time voters' dilemma
GOMBAK - It is like the Netflix series “Love is Blind” for youths and first-time voters, here.
At the SMK Hillcrest polling centre, some were in a dilemma on whether to say yes or no to the candidate of their choice, while some expressed confidence in the candidate they were going to vote for.
This, was mostly because of what they witnessed in the campaigns by the candidates for the Gombak parliamentary constituency during the two-week campaign period.
A 22-year old who only wanted to be known as Jasmine said she felt like she was at the alter as soon as she entered the voting station to cast her vote.
“I already have someone (candidate) in mind, but when I saw the campaigns, I started to doubt my choice.
“I’m not going to say who I voted for due to voter secrecy, but at first I was confident with my choice (of candidate) but it suddenly got me thinking if I made the right decision,” she said adding that she voted for the candidate of her choice after giving much thought.
Jasmine also expressed that she was proud to have went out and voted in the 15th General Election (GE15) for the sake of the country.
Meanwhile, Wan Zahran Wan Zakwan, 24, said after seeing the campaigns and manifestos by the candidates, he was even more confident on who he would vote for.
He said he was thrilled to be a part of the election for the betterment of the country.
“I saw the (candidates) campaigns mostly from social media and the more I see the campaigns the more confident I was with the candidate of my choice.
“I had no doubt,” he said.
Zahran said he hoped that the candidate he chose would serve the constituency better.
Aiman Abd Aziz, 24, said he did have a candidate of his choice and at first he was confident to vote for the candidate.
However, seeing the campaigns and manifestos presented by the candidates for the constituency, made him think twice.
“But I just went with my guts and voted for the person I thought was credible. It was the same person I had in mind at the beginning.
“I think that this candidate should be given a chance,” he said.
He also expressed that he felt good to be a part of the election this time.
He added that he saw most of the candidates' campaigns on social media.
Khair Naufal, 24, said looking at the list of candidates, he was of the view that none of them had a good manifesto.
He said there needed to be a change in the people’s representative’s mindset.
He said at the MP level, they needed to especially focus on the local authority (PBT) function in the constituency.
“Looking at the list of the candidates in Gombak, almost all of them made irresponsible press statements.
“I want to see a representative who will focus on the basic things like repairing potholes immediately for people’s convenience,” he said.
He said he hoped that the candidate he chose would serve the people better.
The Gombak parliamentary constituency will witness a five-cornered fight involving its incumbent Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali (Perikatan Nasional), Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari (Pakatan Harapan), Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omar Din (Barisan Nasional), Jamaludin Mohd Tahir (Pejuang) and Zulkifli Ahmad (Independent).
Azmin won the seat under the PKR ticket in GE14, beating candidates from Umno and Pas. He gained a total of 75,113 votes with a 48,721 vote majority.
