The election campaign trail can mean long days away from home and little time with loved ones.
For Pakatan Harapan candidate Allif Ibrahim, the separation reportedly became overwhelming after he received a video call from his children.
Had not spent time with his children for two weeks
Farid El-Amin, whose Threads account regularly shares Allif’s campaign updates and schedule, posted a photo showing the N.28 Kota candidate covering his face while being comforted by another man.
The account appears to belong to someone who is closely involved with or supportive of Allif’s campaign.
According to Farid, Allif became emotional and shed tears after receiving a video call from his children.
He claimed that the candidate had not been able to play or spend time with them for two weeks due to the ongoing campaign.
Let us pray that Ustaz Allif Ibrahim will be granted victory so that he can serve the people of the Kota state constituency,” he wrote.
The post attracted more than 700,000 views at the time of writing.
Netizens respond
While some expressed sympathy for Allif, many netizens responded to the emotional moment with sarcastic remarks.
One commenter jokingly suggested that voters should not support him so that he could return home and spend time with his children.
Out of solidarity for him, please don’t vote for him. If he loses, he’ll get to spend time with his children,” the netizen wrote.
Another agreed and jokingly called on voters to support BN instead.
Let’s all support BN so that he can spend all his time with his family. Let’s help him,” they wrote.
A separate commenter similarly urged Kota voters to choose another candidate.
“Please help this ustaz’s family. Vote for another candidate. Don’t let a father and his children be separated for the next five years,” the user wrote.
The viral post has since sparked discussion over the personal sacrifices made by election candidates, while also attracting political jokes from Malaysians online.
