KOTA KINABALU: A political agreement among all parties not to have a general election until the health crisis has subsided would have been better than declaring a state of emergency, said Warisan president Shafie Apdal today.
Shafie said the emergency appeared to be “politically motivated”. He described as “not acceptable” the rationale provided by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to issue the emergency proclamation.
“There are sufficient existing laws to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. If there is a need to amend the federal constitution to avoid the Sarawak election or any by-election during a pandemic, the Perikatan Nasional government should negotiate with the opposition to do so,” he said.
A constitutional amendment requires approval of a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat, while the ruling PN coalition has only a two-seat majority.
The government should also negotiate with the opposition on legislation to deal with Covid-19 pandemic, Shafie said.
He said that political leaders from both sides would have agreed on a ceasefire and would not have called for a general election. He called for the state of emergency to be called off so that parliamentary democracy can be restored quickly with a negotiated peace among political leaders.
A state of emergency was declared by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, on Monday. It is due to last until Aug 1, or earlier if Covid-19 cases were reduced by then.
Parliament and all state assemblies have been suspended. Muhyiddin said on Monday that the government needs the necessary powers to ensure that the pandemic can be curbed.
Shafie said the movement control order was available and feasible, whereas rule by emergency decree could instead lead to abuse of power, or could also “be abused to abrogate or limit the constitutional fundamental rights and liberties of individuals in this country”. - FMT
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