LETTER | Snap polls: Is Zahid out of his mind?

LETTER | I am no political analyst, just an ordinary Malaysian who goes through the rigour of putting bread on the table. But I am flabbergasted that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has over the weekend called for the general elections to be held soon.

In media reports, he said this was reflective of grassroots sentiments who were against the party's pact with Bersatu, and therefore a snap poll ought to be called soon.

Is this man who faces multiple corruption charges and the prospects of years behind bars, out of his mind? Why do we need a general election when the daily new Covid-19 cases are still in the four-digit range? Of late, it has been breaching the 2,000-mark quite often.

Have we not learnt from the Sabah elections? Due to our lackadaisical attitude, there was an explosion of Covid-19 cases following the state polls, and this was not confined to the state. Sabah-linked cases spread throughout the country and led to the third wave of Covid-19 cases.

Why would any sane person want to risk lives and limbs for his own selfish political means? Whether we should hold elections now or not is not a political decision. It should be one based on health risk assessment. And our beloved Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had given an unequivocal ‘no’ to this question.

Zahid cited the examples of countries that had held their elections during the pandemic, including the United States and Singapore. Does he not know that the contexts and social settings in those countries were different?

In the US, many localities conducted postal voting, a facility not in place yet in Malaysia for the masses. And the cases in the US have shot through the roof, crippling the healthcare system of many states, with the Covid-19 body count spiking.

Singapore is a tiny nation-state with its people used to a regimented lifestyle. With a much smaller population, it would be easier to enforce SOPs.

Malaysians, as we know, are known for being laid back. On the one hand, we complain about the worrying number of new daily cases, but on the other hand, the same people think nothing of gathering in crowds in malls and parks because "Covid-19 will only affect others, not me".

Most legislatures in Malaysia, including the Dewan Rakyat, which held elections in May 2018, are only halfway into their respective terms. Why Zahid finds it necessary to dissolve the legislatures with the Covid-19 pandemic raging is beyond me.

While I am not very familiar with politics, and if elections were held now, I'd on account of Zahid wanting early polls, make sure I vote against his party or the pact his party is in. Maybe, that would knock some sense into this man.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.