Govt mulls emergency in Gerik, Bugaya to postpone polls

 

De facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan says the government feels the emergency in Batu Sapi, Sabah, is a right decision.

KUALA LUMPUR: De facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan says the government is considering advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to declare an emergency in Gerik, Perak, and Bugaya, Sabah, to postpone the by-elections there.

He said this will be based on the risk assessment by the health ministry and the National Security Council (MKN) of the Covid-19 situation in the two constituencies.

This follows the King’s consent to declare a state of emergency in Batu Sapi, Sabah, to postpone the by-election there to avoid a fourth wave of Covid-19 outbreaks, with another date for the polls to be set later.

“One concern in Batu Sapi was that the SOPs set by MKN might not be able to be fully complied with,” Takiyuddin told the Dewan Rakyat today, in reply to a question from Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian).

He said another issue that arose was the lack of Election Commission officers willing to be deployed for the by-election, with only 143 out of the 837 required officers registering for duty.

Takiyuddin said the health ministry had also said there would be challenges to deploy health officers for the by-election.

“Based on these, the government felt that the emergency was an accurate decision and does not go against democratic practice,” he said.

Gerik MP Hasbullah Osman died last week after suffering a heart attack. A day later, Bugaya assemblyman Manis Muka Mohd Darah also passed away.

The Batu Sapi by-election was caused by the death of its incumbent, Liew Vui Keong, on Oct 2. - FMT