KOTA KINABALU – The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Sabah government has backed the declaration of a localised emergency in the Bugaya constituency, putting a hold on the state seat’s by-election that was scheduled on Jan 16.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor praised Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah’s decision to assent the emergency, adding that it was a wise move considering the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
He noted that the spread of Covid-19 in Sabah remains a threat to people in the state.
“We want to stop this Covid-19 spread, to flatten the curve and most importantly to save lives,” he said in a statement, here today.
A state of emergency has been proclaimed in Semporna’s Bugaya and in Gerik, Perak, putting a hold to the by-elections in the state and federal constituencies respectively.
The same ruling was declared on Sabah's Batu Sapi, where a by-election was also scheduled to be held in the East Coast federal seat.
Meanwhile, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, who is also the State Barisan Nasional Chairman, likewise hailed the decision.
He said it is the right move in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.
He has earlier said that the party would not be fielding candidates in the Batu Sapi and Bugaya by-elections.
The Bugaya state seat and Batu Sapi parliamentary seat fell vacant following the deaths of the former’s assemblyman, Manis Muka Mohd Darah, and Datuk Liew Vui Keong, the MP for Batu Sapi. – The Vibes, December 16, 2020
