BINTULU – Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said he finds it strange that opposition parties in the state want to delay the 12th state election.
Abang Johari, who is also Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman, said the state polls need to be carried out to get the people’s mandate.
“If in the peninsula, the opposition parties are the ones that can’t wait to have state elections, but here, the situation is different,” he said at a dinner event with the people in the state here yesterday.
Abang Johari said the people of Sarawak should give GPS the opportunity to continue governing the state and complete all development projects that have been planned.
“Our work is not complete yet. Give me the mandate and I will fight for the rights of Sarawak. If I don’t have the people’s mandate, what do I fight for?” he said.
The Sarawak state assembly was supposed to be dissolved on June 7, which is five years from the date of its first meeting.
However, it was postponed after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah proclaimed a six-month emergency in Sarawak from August 2 to February 2, 2022, in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On November 3, His Majesty consented to the lifting of the Proclamation of Emergency on Sarawak, which automatically resulted in the dissolution of the state assembly, thus paving way for the state election. – Bernama, November 24, 2021
