KUALA LUMPUR – Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) have announced they will not contest the Batu Sapi by-election.
In a statement today, BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the coalition made the decision to prevent the spread of Covid-19, pointing to the rise in cases linked to the September 26 Sabah polls.
“The decision was made as BN believes the spread of Covid-19 must be prevented. If the by-election is held, it could lead to a recurrence of what happened during the Sabah election," he said.
“BN leaves it to the wisdom of the Election Commission (EC) to decide on the campaign period and a suitable date for polling day.
“The health and well-being of the people must be prioritised.”
Meanwhile, PCS president Ansari Abdullah said the party will not be contesting in the by-election as “the wellbeing of the rakyat precedes politics”.
“Sabah has been hit hardest in the latest wave of the Covid-19 outbreak, and as we saw in the state polls, SOPs and rules failed to curb the spread of the virus,” he said.
The EC on Tuesday said it will meet on October 13 to decide the key dates for the by-election, necessitated by the death of MP Datuk Liew Vui Keong.
Several quarters have called on political parties to allow Parti Warisan Sabah to retain Batu Sapi uncontested so as to avoid a potential new virus outbreak.
They include Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki and DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang. – The Vibes, October 8, 2020
