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KUALA LUMPUR – The Health Ministry is seeking an amendment to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) to give it more powers, such as in times of election.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry currently lacks certain jurisdictions to implement rules and regulations to prevent the spike in infections of diseases, including to postponing an election during a pandemic.
He noted how Covid-19 cases in the country soared following the recent Sabah state polls.
“We drafted Act 342 in 1988, so maybe it’s time to relook at it. At that time, we did not expect to use this Act for a pandemic as huge as this. It is pertinent that this Act is amended.
“This includes giving more power (to the ministry) during elections, for instance. However, the matter must be referred to the Attorney-General first,” he said in a press conference today.
“We refer to the Sabah election, among others. The issue was the lack of compliance with government standard operating procedures (SOP). If we had power, the best thing to do was to actually postpone the election.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have such powers in the ministry under Act 342 at the moment,” he added.
Other than the power to postpone an election, Noor Hisham also proposed that the ministry be given the authority to set other restrictions, including barring interstate and district travels for polling, as well as physical campaigning among politicians.
He added that several amendments to the Act were mooted even before the existence of Covid-19 and that its proposals have been submitted to the AG’s Chambers.
“We hope the amendments can be made as soon as possible. There is a need for these amendments to give the Act more strength in the future,” he said
The director-general was asked if it is appropriate for a general election to be held in a time of a pandemic after Umno said it would be pushing for snap polls once Covid-19 is under control.
Noor Hisham said, seeing the aftermath of the Sabah election, it is best that any polls be put off until the country is free of infection.
He said this is especially pertinent as many Malaysians tend to disregard SOPs that are in place.
“The challenge is to get people to comply. If let's say we have no power to postpone elections, then it is vital that enforcement and monitoring be increased during these periods,” he said. - The Vibes, October 30, 2020
