KUCHING, Nov 4: If the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) bans gatherings or house-to-house campaigning for the upcoming 12th Sarawak State Election (PRN12), all parties will have to comply to protect public health during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Youth chief Datuk Snowdan Lawan said this is a minor trade-off that participating parties could do for the greater good of the people’s health.
“Public health must be of utmost consideration above all,” he stressed, adding that it will be up to the EC to decide on the necessary standard operating procedures (SOPs) during nomination, campaigning and polling days.
He said SOPs would be among many other things such as weather, democratic rights, the current State Legislative Assembly term, and new norms which the EC will take into consideration.
When asked for his opinion on the ideal date to hold elections, Snowdan said it would be best to keep fingers crossed and wait for the official announcement despite rife speculations at this time.
“The exact date for the Sarawak State election has not been specified yet but the last term expired on June 6. The Emergency has now been lifted too. The end of the Emergency would require Sarawak to hold the election within 60 days from the revocation or annulment of the Emergency.
“Therefore we shall await the EC to sit down, meet and determine when the election is to be held,” he said in a statement today.
Earlier today, EC secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak said the commission had received official notification from Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg regarding theYang di-Pertuan Agong’s assent to end the Proclamation of Emergency in Sarawak earlier than the scheduled date of Feb 2, 2022.
Ikmalrudin also said EC will hold a special meeting to discuss the implementation of PRN12 soon, but the specific meeting date has yet to be decided and will be announced later. — DayakDaily
