MIRI – The Sarawak government has been advised to review its Covid-19 vaccination, standard operating procedures (SOPs) implementation and enforcement to enable Sarawakians cast their votes safely for the 12th state election.
Senior lawyer and political analyst Datuk Lawrence Lai told The Vibes that there are too many weaknesses and “holes” at present on the current enforcement of SOPs by state policymakers which have contributed to increasing Covid-19 infections and fatalities.
“Looking at the latest developments which points to the emergency expiring on August 1, and with Sarawak having to hold the next state election by October 1, we will have roughly less than four months to go from today.
“The state authorities must begin to overhaul their approach in order to bring Covid-19 pandemic down to a level safe enough for the state polls to be held.
“The enforcement of SOPs was so underwhelming, which is why we are experiencing the Gawai Dayak and Hari Raya clusters emerging in this state.
The vaccination process remains very slow, with many people still waiting for the vaccine even though they had registered with MySejahtera early this year
The state Disaster Management Committee, he said, must stop the habit of constantly relaxing the SOPs before altering and tightening it every few weeks.
Lai, who is also former Mayor of Miri recommended that Covid-19 SOPs must be published in English, Mandarin, Iban, Kenyah, and other ethnic dialects in addition to only Bahasa Malaysia so that all three million Sarawakians can comprehend and abide by it.
As of now, he said the state publishes them only in Bahasa Malaysia, causing many people to have difficulties grasping the set SOPs.
Lai said that while it is possible for Sarawak to have a state election safely by October, the state authorities must improve comprehensively in their methods to manage Covid-19 with immediate effect.
His comments came after Sarawak deputy chief minister Tan Sri James Masing said that Sarawak is going to face a serious political and public safety dilemma when the emergency is lifted on August 1.
In a statement, today Masing said Sarawak must hold its 12th state election within 60 days once the emergency ends.
This means that Sarawakians will have to go to the polls during a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is still raging in this state, he said.
Masing, who is also Parti Rakyat Sarawak president, said the state might not be able to achieve 80% herd immunity by that time.
“We cannot go back to the pre-Covid-19 way. Nominations and polling cannot be done as before.
“There must be new safety measures. There cannot be any campaigning in public or face-to-face among the people.
“How the balloting and casting of votes is to be carried out will also have to be carefully planned,” he added.
Sarawak’s state law requires the next state elections to be held and a result called within 60 days should the emergency not get extended beyond August 1.
The current term of the current State Legislative Assembly was set to expire on June 6 with automatic dissolution to take place on June 7.
However, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had ordered the Sarawak government coalition under the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) administration to continue as usual since the emergency is still enforced until August 1.
Yesterday, the Conference of Rulers, in a statement, was of the opinion that the state of emergency should not be extended beyond August 1.
GPS controls 68 of the 82 state constituencies in the state. – The Vibes, June 17, 2021
