SANDAKAN – Batu Sapi folk are happy that the constituency’s by-election is postponed, despite them not having representation in Parliament for now.
Their concern for safety and health is greater than their need to have an MP represent them, they said.
Single mother of four Junaidah Onik, 55, said she believes people’s lives are more important than a parliamentary seat.
She is happy that the by-election, which she had been vocally against, is now postponed.
“The Covid-19 virus does not pick its target, so, I fear for the high-risk groups, such as senior citizens, pregnant women, babies and disabled persons. When I heard about the news (on the emergency proclamation), I was very happy and relieved.
“However, I still cannot understand how the Election Commission (EC) could have turned a blind eye to our cries. The government had to resort to advising the king to declare a state of emergency to cancel the by-election,” she said.
Farhan Abdullah, a teacher from Sarawak who has been living on Pulau Timbang, Batu Sapi, for 23 years, welcomed the king’s decision to declare an emergency in the constituency.
He said he is particularly concerned about Pulau Timbang residents, comprising some 450 families, as they would have had to travel via boat to polling stations from their water villages.
“They are not like those on land; other people can just drive to polling centres – they cannot. They must take the boat, and there is a greater risk of infection if all the villagers here gather to take boats to the polling centres. That is what happened during previous elections,” he said.
Another Batu Sapi voter happy to learn that the by-election is postponed is housewife Yee Kah Mun.
The mother of three said she was worried when the EC initially announced that the by-election would proceed.
“I am relieved that it is now postponed. We have so many Covid-19 cases daily that it seemed absurd to conduct another election here. The residential area that I am living in, Taman Mawar, had just undergone a two-week enhanced movement control order (EMCO). It was a terrible phase for my family as we could not go out.
“So, to think that there is a possibility that the by-election could have caused Covid-19 cases in my area to rise again is a scary thought,” she said.
Sandakan voter Joseph Hing, 31, said the idea of a by-election at this time does not make sense to the people here.
“It does not make sense at all. Even though I am a voter in Sandakan, what happens in Batu Sapi will still affect us as it is in Sandakan district.
“If Covid-19 cases in Batu Sapi are high, they are going to use the district’s sole hospital – Duchess of Kent Hospital – and the last thing we want is to overwhelm the hospital, which is already struggling.
“So, the postponement of the by-election is most welcome.”
Another resident, Ho Ken Nyen, said despite his relief that the by-election is postponed, he still hopes it will be conducted before May next year.
According to the constitution, he said, there is no need to have a by-election within two years of the next general election.
“That means, if the next general election is to be held in May 2023, the by-election must be conducted before May next year. Batu Sapi cannot go without a representative at all for three years; that is unfair,” he said.
After the death of Datuk Liew Vui Keong, the Warisan MP for Batu Sapi, on October 2, the EC announced that nomination for the by-election would fall on November 23, early voting on December 1, and polling on December 5.
The EC had also set rules for campaigning to be held only online, which was problematic as certain areas in Batu Sapi have poor to no internet access.
The by-election’s announcement had instantly received objections from residents, as Sandakan and Sabah were still seeing mounting Covid-19 cases daily.
Political parties then started announcing their pull-out from the polls, the first being Barisan Nasional.
Bersatu and Warisan were the only parties that remained quiet on the matter.
On Wednesday, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah agreed to proclaim a state of emergency in Batu Sapi, preventing a by-election from being held as scheduled on December 5.
The same day, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said his cabinet had noted that Malaysia’s third Covid-19 wave was caused by the September 26 Sabah election, where compliance with health standard operating procedures was low.
He had also said the EC was finding it hard to get officials to work during the polls due to fears of getting infected by the virus. Only 143 election workers were appointed out of the 873 needed for the vote. – The Vibes, November 20, 2020
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