KOTA KINABALU: The state of emergency needs to be extended for a further six months in order to avoid the two delayed by-elections in Sabah, chief minister Hajiji Noor said.
“The state government supports the extension of the emergency for a further six months, given the possibility of a spike in Covid-19 cases if by-elections for the vacant Batu Sapi parliamentary and Bugaya state seats are to proceed,” he said in a statement issued by his press team tonight.
Earlier today, Perikatan Nasional ally and component party Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku president Jeffrey Kitingan had said he had recommended to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, that the state of emergency be maintained.
Kitingan, who is also Sabah deputy chief minister, said the current pandemic situation in the country should not be viewed in isolation but rather in comparison with the rest of the world.
He claimed Malaysia was not the only country in the world that had declared a state of emergency to deal with the crisis and that more than 70 countries had taken a similar step.
“I informed the King that the emergency status should be maintained for the time being until the (health) situation is stabilised,” he said, in a statement.
The King had granted an online audience to Kitingan yesterday morning to get the latter’s views on the pandemic and the emergency.
Meanwhile, Hajiji said Sabah was fully behind the National Recovery Plan announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin earlier today.
Citing the national plan as apt, he said it would greatly assist in the implementation of the state government’s recovery measures.
He assured that the Sabah government will give its full cooperation to ensure the four-phased recovery plan will be implemented successfully. - FMT
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