Abandon plans to hold S'wak state polls - DAP man
Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen has urged Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg to abandon his idea of holding the Sarawak state elections within the next six months.
“The lesson learnt in the Sabah state elections is still as fresh in everyone’s minds as can be. Therefore, it is irresponsible of Abang Johari to even contemplate and suggest dissolving the Sarawak assembly and having elections this year,” he said in a statement today.
Chong said the Sabah state elections was inevitable due to the coup attempt by...
Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen says it is irresponsible to hold the polls as the country is facing a new Covid-19 wave.
Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen has urged Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg to abandon his idea of holding the Sarawak state elections within the next six months.
“The lesson learnt in the Sabah state elections is still as fresh in everyone’s minds as can be. Therefore, it is irresponsible of Abang Johari to even contemplate and suggest dissolving the Sarawak assembly and having elections this year,” he said in a statement today.
Chong said the Sabah state elections was inevitable due to the coup attempt by former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman, but for Sarawak, the current term for the government will only expire in June 2021, and there is no risk of anyone toppling the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) through any “backdoor exercise”.
Therefore, he said, there is no necessity to rush into state elections for the moment.
Chong said the country is currently facing a third Covid-19 pandemic wave, and holding state elections right now would put thousands of election workers and millions of Sarawakians at risk of contracting the disease.
“This is the time to reduce, as much as possible, gatherings, meetings and unnecessary official duties with human contact,” he said.
Chong acknowledged that under the movement control order, elections would favour the ruling parties such as GPS.
“But, in the interest and well-being of the people and thousands of government servants involved in running the elections, no government with a sensible mind will rush into elections at this time,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Sarawak Wanita PKR has also urged Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg to postpone his plans to call for a state election "any time from now" in view of the sudden surge of Covid-19 cases.
In a statement today, its deputy chief Zulhaidah Suboh advised the chief minister to instead focus on resolving the challenges due to the pandemic.
"Referring to his latest remark which portrayed that the state polls will be held any time, we from the Sarawak Wanita PKR appeal that he postpone his plan to hold the polls soon," she said.
Zulhaidah then cited the new wave of Covid-19 cases that occurred after the recently concluded Sabah polls.
"Elections are indeed an incident that involves the mass movement of the local communities. The campaign process will increase the social movement and close contact between the candidates and the constituents. This would increase the risk of an outbreak.
"Under such a situation, where people are facing the economic and health challenges due to the pandemic, the government should indeed focus on taking measures to handle these challenges," she added.
Zulhaidah said the ruling state government still has nine months to go before it needs to seek a fresh mandate.
On Oct 3, the country hit another record-high in the daily number of Covid-19 cases for the second consecutive day, at 317 cases. A total of 293 cases was recorded yesterday.
Several politicians who campaigned during the Sabah state election were infected with Covid-19 while some politicians did not quarantine themselves for 14 days, causing concern and outrage among the public.
However, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said not all individuals who tested positive with Covid-19 after returning from Sabah are politicians.
Those who returned from Sabah included tourists and businesspersons, Ismail added.
