Kit Siang: Can all political parties agree not to have an election during Covid-19 pandemic?

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang urged all political parties to stop asking for a premature general election to be held while the Covid-19 pandemic was still full blown.

He said if not for the greed of Perikatan Nasional (PN) to wrest power in Sabah, there would be no third wave of Covid-19 cases that has led to 122,845 total cases in the country.

In a statement, the MP for Iskandar Puteri said Malaysia’s cumulative cases were 9,354 as of September 1 last year with 128 deaths. After the Sabah state elections cases rose to the thousands daily with the death toll rising to 509 as of yesterday.

“Are we to make the same mistake by holding the 15th General Election (GE) during the Covid-19 pandemic and see a more ferocious fourth wave of the pandemic with a greater cumulative total of Covid-19 cases and fatalities — which would probably catapult Malaysia to be among the top countries in the world with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases?

“The question Malaysians are entitled to ask all political parties is whether they could reach a national consensus that the 15th GE would not be held during the Covid-19 pandemic?

“All political parties must ensure that the top priority during the Covid-19 pandemic is to save lives and livelihoods and ensure that Malaysia can stage a swift and full post-pandemic economic and national recovery,” the statement read.

Umno has again begun pushing for an early general election in the belief that the party could regain control of the federal government, which it lost in the 2018 general election.

While Pakatan Harapan was ousted as the federal government in February last year, the younger and smaller Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia emerged the pre-eminent political force in the federal administration, relegating Umno to a supporting role that has chafed its leaders and members.

Umno’s push to break away from the ruling Perikatan Nasional appeared to gain momentum yesterday when the party unilaterally replaced senior leader Tan Sri Annuar Musa as the secretary-general of Barisan Nasional.