ALOR SETAR, Sept 16 — The cost of defending a single parliamentary seat in the upcoming 16th General Election (GE16) could reach up to RM1 million if political parties fail to keep pace with technological advances, PAS election director Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said.
According to Sinar Harian, Sanusi, speaking at the PAS Annual General Assembly (Muktamar) here today, warned that reliance on outdated campaigning methods would drive expenses even higher.
“A single parliamentary seat in the future, if we don’t master the available technology and applications before us, will force us to rely entirely on conventional methods. It’s costly… one seat is estimated to cost RM1 million. If we want to win 60 seats, we need to have RM60 million,” he said.
Sanusi explained that this figure includes rising costs for campaign machinery, logistics, volunteer training, and campaign materials. He added that election operations have become significantly more complex, requiring more sophisticated strategies than in previous years.
He emphasised that PAS could no longer afford to rely solely on conventional campaigning methods in today’s fast-evolving electoral landscape.
“This is the current political reality. If we don’t prepare early, and if we fail to master technology, social media, modern apps, and campaign tools, we will fall behind,” Sanusi, who is also the Kedah Menteri Besar, was reported as saying at the assembly.
