KUCHING, July 31: The people’s mandate to vote for the 19th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) will be restored as soon as situation allows without compromising the safety and health of all Sarawakians amid the pandemic.
The Chief Minister Office (CMO) said the Emergency Order on Sarawak until Feb 2, 2022 may be lifted earlier with the approval of Yang di-Pertuan Agong when the Covid-19 situation in the State is deemed under control by the Sarawak government.
“To ensure the practice of parliamentary democracy is maintained, the people’s mandate in Sarawak needs to be regained as soon as the pandemic allows.
“Therefore, according to the (Emergency) Ordinance, the Emergency will end on Feb 2, 2022 or can be terminated earlier by His Majesty after considering the views of the Sarawak government.
“With this provision, it is thus guaranteed that the people’s mandate will be restored immediately as soon as the pandemic is under control and most importantly only when safety and health of Sarawakians are not compromised based on scientific data and professional advice,” it said in a statement today.
CMO stressed that State polls will only be considered when the Covid-19 is no longer a threat to the people with advice from health agencies and based on scientific data.
In line with the intentions of the Sarawak government, the office also paid tribute to the King for prioritising the safety and welfare of the people while upholding the practice of parliamentary democracy in Sarawak.
A Federal Gazette dated July 30 has extended the Emergency Order for Sarawak effective from Aug 2, 2021 to Feb 2, 2022.
Following that, the Prime Minister Office (PMO) also released a statement to say that there will be no State polls in Sarawak until February 2022 unless the Emergency is terminated earlier.
Sarawak DUN was supposed to be dissolved on June 7 upon expiry of its term and elections are required to be held within 60 days, but a state of Emergency covering Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah was declared from Jan 12 to Aug 1, thus suspending the polls.
Now that the Emergency is nearing its end and elections must be held within 60 days from Aug 2, the government expressed concerns if allowing the State polls to take place would worsen the current Covid-19 situation.— DayakDaily
