PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Health Coalition has urged the Election Commission (EC) to institute safer voting practices and ban physical campaigning for the March 12 Johor state election.

       In a statement on Friday (Feb 25), it urged the government to proceed with the election in a cautious manner in view of the Covid-19 situation in the country.

       “We believe that physical campaigning should be banned, and enforcement must be strict and fair.

       “The EC should also immediately implement new mechanisms to enable more comprehensive postal or electronic voting, while protecting against fraud,” the statement read.

       The coalition also urged members of the public to get their vaccine booster shots and said political parties must adhere strictly to standard operating procedures (SOP) during campaigning.

       “We urge all Malaysians to get boosters, as there is strong evidence that boosters will protect against Omicron.

       “At the same time, we urge all parties to lead by example during campaigning,” it said.

       The coalition, which consists of several medical and public health associations, also said the Health Ministry should work with the EC to put "smarter health SOPs" in place for the polls.

       “These are especially important because Malaysia will need to hold a general election by May 2023, and the experience in Johor can help us build better SOPs,” they added.

       It also suggested a postponement of the state election if the Covid-19 situation in the country worsens, citing the probability of bigger crowds at polling centres after the implementation of Undi18.

       “Johor will see more registered voters moving around the state, with Undi18 implemented for the first time, two and five times more (voters) than Sarawak and Melaka respectively.

       “If the epidemiological situation worsens, we will have to consider the drastic step of postponing the election,” it added.