Kit Siang: EC should draw up election protocols for all NRP phases

 

Veteran opposition MP Lim Kit Siang has urged the Election Commission to draw up protocols for elections to be held in all four phases of the National Recovery Plan (NRP).

In a statement today, Lim said protocols formulated in consultation with stakeholders was necessary lest the Health Ministry and EC be accused of using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to clamp down on legitimate electioneering activities to benefit government parties.

“The EC must prove that it is mindful of its responsibility to conduct ‘free, fair and clean’ elections,” said Lim in a statement today.

Lim was referring to Sarawak, one of two states still categorised as Phase 3, which will have to hold state elections before Jan 5.

Malacca will go to the polls on Nov 20. The Health Ministry has banned all gatherings in relation to the state elections until Nov 27.

However, there are accusations that “disguised election activities” are being conducted. The Health Ministry has issued fines for some of these activities.

Generally, Phase 4 rules stipulate a higher capacity limit for places where people gather compared to Phase 3.

Meanwhile, Lim urged Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to state if the latter was still confident that new daily Covid-19 cases would be below 500 when he reaches his 100th day in office.

Lim said that Khairy had made that pledge during a Special Select Committee on Health, Science and Innovation hearing. The committee has published a two-volume report on Malaysia’s Covid-19 response.

“As Khairy is over two-thirds of his first 100-Days as the new health minister, is the reduction of daily new Covid-19 cases in Malaysia to less than 500 cases by December 7 still on target and one of his KPIs?

“Under Khairy’s stewardship, Malaysia has passed the peak of the surge of the third Covid-19 wave, which is probably the longest in the world lasting more than 14 months since the Sabah state elections last September, but the trajectory of decline in daily new Covid-19 cases is proving to be an agonisingly slow one.

“In his 69 days as health minister, Malaysia has managed to fall to the lowest point of 4,626 daily new Covid-19 cases on November 1, when Indonesia has been recording 22 consecutive days of triple-digit daily new Covid-19 cases, with 518 new Covid-19 cases yesterday as compared to Malaysia’s 4,922 daily new Covid-19 cases,” said Lim. - Mkini