People's votes are investment for their future, says analyst

SHAH ALAM - A single vote matters and it carries a big impact on the future of the people.

BowerGroupAsia senior analyst Arinah Najwa said refusing not to vote in the 15th General Election (GE15) for the reason that it does not concern them was not the right thing to do.

Instead, she encouraged Malaysians to do some readings on the country’s political landscape and go out to vote on the polling day as every single vote matters.

“I think the first thing is, the thinking that you do not matter or your voice doesn't matter because you are just one person is not true.

“A single vote does matter, so do your reading and then go out and vote,” she said during Sinar Daily’s Wacana English Edition programme on Friday.

Arinah, together with political analyst Associate Professor Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani and UiTM Associate Professor Soo Wincci were the panelists in the show which discussed on GE15, the voter turnout, contesting candidates and campaigning period.

She said casting a vote GE15 was like an investment for the future of the people since the policies decided by the new government will have a massive impact in the next five years.

She said it was better for voters to take the chance and vote during the election since it will have an impact on them anyway.

“It is false to say that it does not impact you now, like you can opt out of it now because the policies that are made today will impact you in the next five years.

“This is actually an investment for you because you will see these policies in the next five years and even if these policies are retracted, it will come again in the new government.

“You’re voting for the future so you cannot say that you are not involved or you don’t care because it will impact you regardless of whether you go out and vote. So why not take that chance?,” she said.

On Thursday, the Election Commission (EC) announced that polling for GE15 will be held on Nov 19.

Meanwhile, the nomination date falls on Nov 5 and early voting has been fixed on Nov 15.

A total of 21,173,638 individuals are eligible to vote in GE15.