Malaysia GE2022: Meet Peggy Chaw, the youngest and also 'accidental' candidate standing in for her farmer dad

KOTA KINABALU — One of the two youngest candidates in Malaysia’s general election 2022 is not there by choice, but by accident.

Ms Peggy Chaw Zhi Ting, 23, found herself stepping in for her father after the Election Commission rejected his candidacy on Nomination Day (Nov 5) over his unpaid credit card bills.

Ms Chaw, who is in a five-cornered fight in the Tenom constituency of Sabah, joins Mr Muhammad Syahmi Suhaimi, who is contesting in Perlis, as the joint-youngest candidates this elections. 

Mr Syahmi is contesting under the Pakatan Harapan banner while Ms Chaw is one of the 108 independent candidates in the elections this year.

LATE START TO CAMPAIGN

But with just mere days to go to Polling Day this Saturday, Ms Chaw's campaign has hardly begun.

As TODAY travelled through Tenom on Tuesday, south of the state’s capital Kota Kinabalu, many flags and banners of the other candidates were visible, but none belonging to Ms Chaw could be spotted. 

It was only as we approached a small field where her rally was to take place that bright green flags with a tractor insignia and the motto “memacu ekonomi petani” (which means “boost the economy of farmers”) could be seen flying around the perimetre. 

Workers were also in the midst of setting up the tent and stage for Ms Chaw’s rally that was due to start in an hour's time at noon.

But she nonetheless agreed to a lunch interview with TODAY at a nearby Chinese restaurant, along with her parents.

Mr Tommy Chaw, the candidate’s 52-year-old father, said he had wanted to contest in the elections, following several encounters over the last two years where he felt he had been insulted by the authorities.

Declining to give details, Mr Chaw, who runs a cabbage farm, claimed that the police had declined to help him over his financial matters. 

Holding a can of stout in his hand and speaking in a mix of Mandarin, Malay and Hakka, Mr Chaw said he had also wanted to take a stance against government corruption during his electoral campaign.

Cutting a meek figure next to her father, a soft-spoken Ms Chaw said her father had prepared her nomination papers the day before Nomination Day so that she could be his “standby” candidate. 

Ms Chaw is the third of four children aged between 17 and 25. She completed her diploma in physiotherapy in mid-2022 and is currently looking for a job, while freelancing as a table official for basketball matches.

When asked how she felt about contesting the elections, Ms Chaw said in Mandarin: “I'm afraid, because this is my first time.”

She added that she was scared about the upcoming rally as it would be her first time speaking in front of a crowd.

When asked if she knew much about politics, Ms Chaw said she was still learning as she knew only "a bit".

Throughout the interview, Ms Chaw would hesitate to answer, give brief replies, or constantly turn to her parents sitting by her side for help.

For instance, she said she had yet to go out to campaign and meet people, and it has mostly been her father preparing for the contest so far.

Jumping in, Mr Chaw said his daughter had been busy visiting the various government agencies to sort out licences and other administrative matters for the election in the past week. 

Ms Chaw also said they had only just received their campaign flags on Tuesday and had started putting them up that day. 

Her mother Yong Chew Fung, 51, added that the family had printed her banners only after nomination day as they were not sure if Ms Chaw’s candidacy bid would be successful. 

On what she planned to do in Tenom if elected, she merely said she wanted to help the farmers.

Her father added that he wanted to help farmers in Tenom export their products to other countries. 

When asked about her chances, Ms Chaw said she “will try her best”. 

And yet, Ms Chaw said she will contest again in the next general election as she wants to “complete (her) mission and vision”.

And though the lunch interview had run past noon, which was the time the rally was scheduled to start, the family did not look to be in a rush to end it.

They only eventually made their way to the rally venue at around 1.30pm.

At the venue, workers were still in the midst of setting up the stage and putting up flags. Several workers were also preparing food in packets by the side of the stage. 

At that time, TODAY counted a total of six spectators at the rally. 

One of them, a 38-year-old civil servant who wanted to be known only as Mr Walter, said he had decided to “just come and see” the rally as he was free that day.

Gesturing to the workers setting up the flags, Mr Walter, who said he arrived at 2pm, felt the preparations seemed “last minute”. 

When TODAY left the venue at 2.45pm, the workers were still setting up for the rally. 

Mr Walter was no longer there, and the only other people in the crowd were several curious members of the media. 

Meanwhile, Ms Chaw sat on a plastic chair as she waited quietly for the work to be done.

WHAT ANALYSTS SAY

According to Malaysia’s Election Commission, there are a total of 108 independent candidates contesting in this year’s general election, up from 24 from the last election in 2018. 

All candidates, including independents, must submit a RM10,000 deposit (S$3,000) to contest and secure at least one-eighth of votes cast to get a refund.

Dr Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, attributed the surge in the number of independent candidates to people who are either out to promote their favourite issues or themselves. 

Independent candidates could also have been planted by political parties to split the votes of other contenders, he said, adding that most independents tend to join the fray at the last minute.

While the high number of independent candidates this year is “a sign of a flowering democracy", Dr Oh said it could also confuse voters and make the electoral outcome unpredictable. 

To augment their chances, better-known personalities will have to explain why they are contesting as an independent, while others may have to resort to "dramatic antics" to capture the attention of voters, said Dr Oh.

Ultimately, voters will be able to tell apart worthy candidates, he added.

"I think most voters are quite clear-eyed. They would be able to distinguish the candidates like the categories I laid out," said Dr Oh.