Health Ministry: No to elections, but if unavoidable, need new SOPs

 

The Health Ministry would prefer not to have another election, after the current third wave of Covid-19 cases in the country came on the heels of the recent Sabah state polls, said director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

"Our recommendation is not to have a next election but if we have to have a next election, maybe we have to look into different means of doing the election.

"One is no cross-border, no cross-district, no balik kampung for the election. Second is no mass gathering, and third no house-to-house visits," he said.

Noor Hisham was speaking during a press conference at the Health Ministry in Putrajaya today.

He said the above three issues, including postal voting, were the main ones to be discussed with the Election Commission (EC) on their feasibility.

“Even though the SOP is available, more importantly, is the compliance to the SOP. We have learned this from Sabah. We hope we do not need to repeat the consequences in other states,” he said.

Earlier today, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Putrajaya will discuss with the EC on a strict SOP for the upcoming Batu Sapi parliamentary by-election.

He said the government has no power to postpone or call off the by-election as the matter is stipulated under the Federal Constitution.

According to the Federal Constitution, when the Parliament or a state assembly is dissolved, or a seat is vacant following the death of an incumbent representative, an election must be held within 60 days.

The Batu Sapi by-election was triggered following the demise of former de facto law minister and incumbent Liew Vui Keong (photo) on Oct 2.

The EC was notified of the vacancy of the Batu Sapi seat on Oct 6 by Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun.

The EC had set the nomination day for the by-election on Nov 23 while voting was fixed for Dec 5.

It also encouraged candidates to conduct virtual campaigns instead of using traditional methods such as ceramah, gatherings, and house-to-house visits. - Mkini