Chatty Politicians Irk Some Malaysian Voters
(WSJ) – “It is annoying. And if I were a fence-sitter, I would have made up my mind not to vote for BN”
Some Malaysian voters are annoyed that political campaigns have been reaching out to them through phone calls and text messages in the push before the May 5 elections.
“I’ve been getting text messages containing contents and words like ‘trust in BN [National Front], vote for BN’ since last December,” says Nichole Low, a 25-year-old attorney in Kuala Lumpur.
“It is annoying. And if I were a fence-sitter, I would have made up my mind not to vote for BN,” said Ms. Low.
She’s not alone in feeling some politicians and campaigns are being a bit of a pest in their voter outreach.
HY Chong said she received a phone call from a campaign worker from the Bandar Hilir district in the southern state of Malacca.
“The individual stated my name in full and said the representative for my area is Ronald Gan, deputy chief of MCA Youth. The individual also said, ‘Remember to vote [for] him’,” said the 26-year-old legal assistant.
“Whatever they are doing is unacceptable, ridiculous and tantamount to a breach of [citizens’] right to elect the government of the day. There is a huge distinction between campaigning and dictating,” added Ms. Chong, one of 2.6 million Malaysians registered to vote for the first time.
Read more at: http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2013/05/04/chatty-politicians-irk-some-malaysian-voters/
