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PETALING JAYA: PBS has announced that it will not participate in the Batu Sapi parliamentary parliamentary elections in light of the growing number of Covid-19 cases in Sabah.
The state has recently recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country, with Sunday’s count alone reaching 702 new cases.
“It is due to the severity of the Covid-19 situation that PBS has decided to stop competing in our stronghold.
“As a multiracial party, PBS continues to enjoy a large following and strong membership in Batu Sapi,” PBS President Maximus Ongkili said today in a statement.
The federal minister for Sabah and Sarawak affairs added that the decision was made based on the belief that public safety and health should be the most important consideration at this time for the people of Sandakan, especially the voters of Batu Sapi.
Although it is not immediately known whether other partners in the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition will oppose it, Ongkili said he has informed the prime minister and GRS chief Muhyiddin Yassin that PBS will help any prospective Perikatan Nasional Plus candidates. in Batu Sapi. partial election.
Previously, Pakatan Harapan (PH), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) had announced that they would skip the by-elections for which voting had been set for December 5, with early voting on December 1 and the day of the nomination November 23.
Batu Sapi’s parliamentary seat was declared vacant following the death of his deputy, Liew Vui Keong of Warisan, due to a lung infection on 2 October.
