Pakatan Harapan (PH) has called on all political parties contesting the Negri Sembilan state election to make democracy a platform for presenting solutions to the people instead of spreading hatred or exploiting racial, religious and royal institution sentiments.
PH Communications Director Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said parties should compete based on ideas, policies, track records and plans to address issues affecting the people.
He claimed that some parties had attempted to use narrow racial narratives and spread allegations during the campaign to divert attention from key issues such as the rising cost of living and the economy.
“Those who lack ideas will resort to selling hatred and division. A party that is confident in its record and proposals will offer hope based on facts, evidence and achievements,” he said during a PH press conference on Sunday.
Fahmi said PH chose to focus on solutions based on facts and past achievements as voters in Negri Sembilan wanted answers to issues affecting their daily lives rather than politics that divided society.
He said among the main concerns raised by the people were the creation of more high-income job opportunities, access to affordable housing for young people and effective measures to ease the burden of living costs.
“The people also want to know how the state’s economy can continue to grow and how the benefits can reach everyone. These are the questions that all parties should answer,” he said.
Fahmi added that politics based on hatred and fear would not create job opportunities, reduce prices of goods, build affordable homes or attract new investments.
He urged all political parties to respect election laws and ensure the remaining campaign period was conducted in a mature manner, with discussions centred on facts and policies.
Fahmi stressed that parties should avoid campaigns built on division and fear, saying Negri Sembilan had long been recognised as a peaceful and harmonious state.
He said voters would make an important decision on Aug 1 between politics that unites communities and politics that creates division, as well as between leadership focused on performance and politics based on negative perceptions.
