By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, July 12: The Sarawak Election is imperative in view that the present Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is a caretaker government without legitimacy following the expiry of the present Sarawak Assembly term on June 6, 2021.
To Prof Dr Jayum Jawan, political scientist of Universiti Putra Malaysia, this is an issue that needed to be “seriously addressed”.
“The term of Sarawak Assembly, DUN, has expired. Whether general elections to elect new set of members of the Assembly is to be carried out after August 1 or not, needs to be seriously addressed. This is because the political party, GPS, that now manages the government and state is a caretaker government that does not have the legitimacy to do so,” Jayum told DayakDaily.
He held that should the Sarawak Election needed to be further postponed due to the threat of Covid-19 spread, then a consultative body must be established to advise the GPS caretaker government on the day-to-day running of the government.
“That is the only moral and ethical things to do and have a respect for democracy,” said Jayum.
Meanwhile, on the strength of different political parties in Sarawak, Jayum believed that the ruling coalition of GPS is clearly having an advantage over other parties as “they are more established and have extensive network, and more importantly, they have the unfair advantages of office” if the impending Sarawak Election were to be held.
To him, the opposition parties are now in disarray and are not expected to unseat GPS with only Democratic Action Party managing to retain some of its incumbent seats.
“Thus, I do not expect any to perform well in the coming (Sarawak) general election. DAP may be able to maintain the number of seats that they held prior, but I can’t see how and where they might be making further inroads, especially in non-Chinese areas.
“All other parties such as PSB (Parti Sarawak Bersatu), PBK (Parti Bumi Kenyalang), PBDSB (Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru) and the likes are either offshoots of some established parties or are formed by former disgruntled members of their former parties.
“So, they may claim all kinds of things that they want to do, but not many would be convinced of their sincerity because they were parts of some political parties before. They have nothing significant to show while they were in their former parties,” said Jayum.
On voters’ turnout rate, Jayum against the views of others, held that it would not be the lowest.
“I do not expect voters’ turnout to be at its lowest because of Covid-19 pandemic.
“Turnout to vote is not the only measure of democracy. Our electoral system is based on first-past-the-post (the candidate with the most votes wins with turnout rate not taking into consideration) and therefore, regardless of turnout, there will be a winner in all constituencies after the votes are counted,” said Jayum.
The 18th Sarawak Assembly has expired on June 6, 2021 in the midst of Emergency announced by the King.
Although the term of the Sarawak DUN has expired which requires an election to be held within 60 days, the Election Commision secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak had in a press statement on June 6 said due to the Emergency proclamation, the 12th Sarawak Election (PRN12) has been postponed until a future date to be decided following discussion between Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Sarawak Governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Citing Section 15 of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021, Ikmalrudin said for the period of Emergency in force, provisioning power to summon, prorogue and dissolve the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly has no effect and it will be fixed at a date as deemed fit by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong after consultation with Tuan Yang Terutama Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak.
He further cited Section 13 of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021, which provides that for state assembly election, for the Emergency period to be in force, it has no effect and the date of the State Election shall be held on the date deemed suitable by again, the King and the Governor.
In view of the proclamation of Emergency issued by the King on January 11, 2021 and the provision under Article 13 of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021, Sarawak Election has been postponed.
On the emergency, Jayum said it should be lifted in states showing subsiding Covid-19 cases where it is safe to open up in all aspects, especially in terms of economic activities and social as well as in governance.
“The leadership needs new and fresh idea to address the pandemic. Clearly what have been done thus far are good but more effective means are urgently needed to bring down the number of cases to a safe level. Lately, the number has been fluctuating with persistently high cases in one or two hot areas within the country.
“Rightly said recently by British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, that the people need to be more vigilante. The success of addressing the pandemic is not about putting in more rules and stringent enforcement. It is about people taking control over their lives and health issues. It is with the people’s knowledge and full participation that any given country can win this battle,” said Jayum. — DayakDaily
