KOTA KINABALU – Former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has denied that the new wave of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia is due to last year’s state election, which was made necessary after he dissolved the state assembly.
The Warisan president said a spike in coronavirus cases can still happen even without an election, citing the instance of Sarawak, which is currently facing a surge in infections.
“There is no election in Sarawak, yet there is a climb in cases there,” he said, adding that Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia are among countries facing an increase in Covid-19 cases.
“It is not because of the election. We held the election as it is constitutionally required.”
Shafie said this during a livestream show called the Unity Show last night.
He was forced to dissolve the state assembly in July last year after losing the support of the majority of the house.
He had lost the majority while in power after several assemblymen of the then ruling Warisan Plus alliance, which he led, switched sides to the opposition.
The Semporna MP dissolved the state assembly after Barisan Nasional leader Tan Sri Musa Aman, who is Shafie’s predecessor as chief minister, claimed to have 33 assemblymen supporting him and demanded Shafie to surrender his power to him in a dramatic coup.
The dissolution of the state assembly paved the way for the state polls on September 26 last year.
It was followed by an increase in Covid-19 infections, not only in Sabah, but throughout the country, as politicians and party supporters who had come to participate in election campaigns returned to their home states.
The rise precipitated in the federal government declaring a second movement control order and emergency rule in January.
Shafie said he had warned of the risk of non-Sabahans converging in the state, stressing that he had advised politicians to let Sabahans decide how to cast their ballots, but admitted that he had to respect democratic norms.
“They still wanted to campaign. I could have blocked them from coming to Sabah using special immigration powers held by the state.
“But this is a democratic process, and we have to give the rights to Sabahans to vote and others (non-Sabahans) to come to the state to help garner votes.”
Shafie said he cannot be held responsible for non-Sabahans coming to Sabah and returning to their home states carrying the virus.
He added that some of them had also travelled to places in Borneo – like Kalimantan in Indonesia, located near Sebatik Island – while undertaking election duties in the state.
“It’s not right for me to blame others now. But, surely, it is not because of the state election that the number of Covid-19 cases surged in the country.” – The Vibes, March 25, 2021
