MUAR: Low voter turnout is the primary concern for Pakatan Harapan in the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections, says Anthony Loke.

       The DAP secretary-general said that the main challenge for Pakatan is to convince voters to come back and vote.

       "We do not know the exact percentage of outstation voters (in the two seats) but we know that the numbers are big. We know that in Johor, there are many working in other places such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, " said Loke.

       "Our challenge is to identify the outstation voters and to call them, convincing them to return home to vote," he added.

       Loke said this to the press after a Pakatan Harapan ceramah at Wisma DAP Muar on Friday (Sept 1) night.

       He added that low voter turnout will affect the credibility of the democracy system.

       "In any election, low voter turnout will affect the credibility of the system. We want a representative who could represent the majority of the people in the area. If the voter turnout is low, it may affect the legitimacy of the person winning the election," he said.

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       Earlier in the ceramah, several speakers urged attendees to call on their family and friends to return home to vote.

       Among them was Bakri MP Tan Hong Pin, who said that there are also those who are unaware that they are in fact voters.

       "There are voters who are also unaware that we have an election going on. I have met with a person who, when asked if she is a Simpang Jeram voter, said that she is a Bakri voter," said Tan.

       "I told her that that is a parliamentary seat and that Simpang Jeram is a state seat. When we checked the Election Commission (EC) system, we found that she was indeed a Simpang Jeram voter," he added.

       Others who spoke in the ceramah included Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) president Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.