KUCHING, July 3 ― Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Women chief Kho Teck Wan has urged the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to grant a special extension to the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) so that the 12th state election can be held at a later date.
She said the special extension should enable the current state government to continue functioning until the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak is under control.
“Not just politicians but all strata of our society in Sarawak should focus on saving lives, getting vaccinated and reviving the economy instead of an election,” she said in a statement yesterday.
Kho suggested the next state election ought to be delayed due to the prevailing high number of Covid-19 cases in the state, not to mention that the Delta variant had been detected.
She feared that election campaign without strict compliant with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) could lead to the emergence of a new pandemic cluster.
“We are now into the third week of Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan. Most businesses are allowed to operate with only 50 per cent workforce capacity.
“Let’s allow the market a period of recovery before the election is held,” she said.
Kho also called upon the Election Commission (EC) to come up with a more stringent SOP for the next state election.
She felt that lower number of daily Covid-19 cases should not be the reason not to tighten the SOP for an election.
At present, she said only 58 per cent of Sarawak’s eligible populations had been fully vaccinated.
“We should focus our efforts on achieving at least 80 per cent population being fully vaccinated. Vaccines may not prevent one from getting infected with Covid-19, however, statistics show that vaccines reduce severe cases and death rate due to the virus. It also prevents the collapse of our healthcare system,” she pointed out.
Given the circumstances, Kho hoped that the King will grant special extension to the DUN Sarawak so that the state can focus on more pressing matters like saving lives and economic recovery. ― Borneo Post
