ALOR GAJAH: Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidates contesting the Nov 14 Melaka state election must build strong campaign machinery rather than rely solely on their track records in serving the community to win voter support, PKR vice-president Datuk Seri R. Ramanan said.
He said a strong record in looking after the people's welfare would not be enough if candidates lacked a capable team to mobilise an effective campaign.
Ramanan said a solid campaign team was essential to help candidates reach voters in different locations, as they could not be everywhere at the same time.
"This is my personal view: candidates need strong campaign machinery. During a campaign, we cannot be in 10 places at the same time.
"So candidates must start building large, capable teams to help drive their campaigns at various locations," he told reporters after attending the HRD Corp Pocket Talk Roadshow programme, themed 'Dari Dasar ke Rakyat' (From Policy to the People) today.
The programme was also attended by HRD Corp chief executive Datuk Shamir Aziz.
The Sungai Buloh MP said candidates needed to move away from the old approach of relying solely on their own efforts without building a support team, and instead adapt to the challenges of today's political landscape.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had also stressed the importance of selecting candidates who actively engaged with the people, worked on the ground and enjoyed public acceptance.
Ramanan said PH's candidate selection process also took credibility into account, including through stringent vetting involving criminal record checks and assessments of candidates' financial standing to ensure they met the stipulated criteria.
Oct 31 has been set for nominations, while early voting is on Nov 10.
In the 2021 state election, Barisan Nasional (BN) won 21 of the 28 seats to form the state government, while PH secured five seats and Perikatan Nasional (PN) won two.
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