Sunday, January 16, 2022

Covid-19 shouldn’t be a worry for Johor polls, says Najib

 

No spike in Covid-19 cases was recorded after the Sarawak state elections in December, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said on Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Fresh state assembly elections in Johor will not lead to a surge in Covid-19 cases if the public continues to exercise caution, says former prime minister Najib Razak.

Najib said tighter election SOPs had been shown to have worked well, as there was no surge in Covid-19 cases after the recent elections in Melaka and Sarawak.

“To me, there is no impediment in terms of health concerns to not have state elections because Melaka and Sarawak have proven that if you have specific guidelines, then elections won’t lead to an increase in Covid-19 cases.

“Whether we have a state election (in Johor) or not is up to the powers that be to decide … But from a health perspective, I don’t think there are any concerns, provided people don’t go overboard and act wisely,” he said today.

Rumours of early Johor state assembly elections began circulating in December shortly after the death of Kempas assemblyman Osman Sapian of Perikatan Nasional on Dec 21.

The Johor state government, comprising Barisan Nasional and PN, has a one-seat majority in the state assembly, with 28 seats to Pakatan Harapan’s 27.

Yesterday, Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub said Putrajaya should just dissolve Parliament and call for a general election if Johor was to go to the polls. “If you want to get the people’s mandate and you’re confident that you can get their support, then just dissolve Parliament now,” said Salahuddin, who is also a member of the Johor state assembly. - FMT

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.