Sarawak politicians all for joint general-state elections

 

The tenure of the Sarawak state assembly expires on June 6 but elections cannot be held until after the emergency is lifted.

KUCHING: With the Sarawak government’s tenure coming to a natural end on June 6 and with many clamouring for a general election as well, both the federal level and state-level elections could be held together, for the first time since 1974.

Politicians on both sides of the divide are seeing the joint elections as the correct solution.

Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, a senior member of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the lynchpin of the ruling GPS coaltion, said the current state assembly would automatically expire on June 6, and the state election must be held within 60 days of the dissolution.

However, no election can be held until Aug 1 following the declaration of emergency by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.

“So, we can’t have our 12th state election unless the King allows it or the emergency ends earlier.

“If that happens, I believe the general and state polls will be held simultaneously as our state assembly is expiring soon while Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin needs to call for snap polls due to the impasse he is facing.

“It is too costly and too much of a hassle if we were to have two elections just months apart. It is likely to be held at the same time,” he told FMT.

Sarawak is the only state in Malaysia to hold state polls separate from the general election due to its size and accessibility issues. The state held state and parliamentary elections concurrently in 1970 and 1974.

During the 1978 general election, Sarawak declined to hold the state polls. Instead, it was held the following year.

DAP’s Dr Kelvin Yii does not agree with having elections in August, but believes the federal and Sarawak state elections should be held concurrently.

The Bandar Kuching MP said there was still a high risk of a surge in Covid-19 cases during elections if 70% to 80% of the people were not vaccinated by then.

“However, if Parliament is dissolved, we should have both elections together, which is economically wise. The money saved from having separate elections can be used to help the people during the pandemic,” he said.

Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) secretary-general George Lo said the party was strongly against having any elections until everyone was safe to go out and vote.

He said it was necessary to have a general election to restore political stability but it should only be held after the Covid-19 situation is under control as political expediency must not come before the welfare of the people.

“We are ready whether the Sarawak election is going to be held separately or simultaneously with the general election, as long as it is safe to do so,” he said.

Recently, science, technology and innovation minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the 15th general election could be held in the final quarter of 2021 after half of Malaysia’s population has been vaccinated.

Khairy said it was “not impossible” for the polls to be held some time this year, telling CNA in an interview that it could happen as early as September.

However, he said this depended on the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme’s success in vaccinating at least 50% to 60% of the population, and if health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah felt that “things were under control”. - FMT