MIRI – A community leader in Sarawak has lambasted the push for a state election despite having the highest Covid-19 death rate in the past two weeks.
“Despite this, Gabungan Parti Sarawak wants to hold a state election? This is gambling with the lives of the rakyat,” Lakiput ethnic community elder Michael Ding told The Vibes.
Ding, who is a native from the upper reaches of Long Lama district in interior northern Sarawak, said he is worried about the pandemic’s handling should the polls be given the go ahead.
“This is definitely not the time to have an election, especially a public election that involves such a big state like Sarawak. We are talking about a state with more than 6,000 rural longhouses and villages.
“What sort of SOPs (standard operating procedures) can guarantee that there will be no outbreak on polling day?
“Even if campaigning is kept to a minimal level, there will still be hundreds of thousands of voters coming out to cast their ballots on polling day.”
Ding called on GPS leaders to look at the latest statistics from the Health Ministry and carefully consider the situation before fixing a polling date with the Election Commission.
According to the CovidNow website, Sarawak’s death rate of 55 per a million people is the highest in a two-week period, followed by Kelantan (36) and Perlis (35).
Sarawak also has the highest intensive care admission rate with about 80% in the past week.
Local nurse Cecilia Bungan today said she and her colleagues dread to think of what lies ahead.
“If the state election is carried out, we expect to see a surge in the number of admissions into Covid-19 wards every day.
“In rural hospitals, there is a possibility of the death rate going up exponentially.”
She said even the field hospitals in Sibu, Kuching and Miri are full, not just with Covid-19 patients but also others suffering from non-Covid-19 ailments.
“This is definitely not a time for a state election.”
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday consented to the lifting of the emergency imposed on Sarawak that was supposed to end in February.
In a statement by Istana Negara yesterday, Acting Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Azuan Effendy Zairakithnaini said the Agong’s decision on the emergency was made after taking into account a request by Sarawak Governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud, and the advice of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said the Agong had also heard the views of Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun, and the heads of two related government agencies.
Also present with the attorney-general were Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, Election Commission chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh, and National Security Council Director-General Datuk Rodzi Md Saad.
The statement came after Taib was granted an audience with the Agong on Monday.
This paved the way for the state election after the automatic dissolution of the state assembly. – The Vibes, November 4, 2021
