KOTA KINABALU – Sabah is ready to hold state assembly sittings once the situation permits.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor today said the state will seek advice from the National Security Council on the matter.
“We will be ready to reconvene (the state assembly) under strict SOPs (standard operating procedures),” said Hajiji.
He added that the matter was decided following a discussion with the state legislature’s Speaker Datuk Kadzim Yahya over the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah’s decree that the parliament and state assemblies should sit as soon as possible.
On June 15, The Sulaman assemblyman had supported calls for an extension of the emergency for a further six months if the state experienced another spike in Covid-19 cases.
His support for the emergency’s extension under such circumstances was ostensibly in view of possible by-elections for the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat and the Bugaya state seat, which were left vacant following the deaths of its incumbents.
Previously, the Batu Sapi federal constituency was held by Warisan’s Datuk Liew Vui Keong before his passing due to pneumonia while being treated for a slipped disc. He died on October 2, 2020.
Meanwhile, the Bugaya state constituency became vacant upon the death of its Warisan assemblyman Datin Manis Muka Mohd Darah on November 17, 2020 due to kidney problems. – The Vibes, June 18, 2021
