[ad_1]
PETALING JAYA (THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin admitted on Wednesday (November 18) that Sabah’s state elections in September were the cause of the latest wave of Covid-19 infections in the country.
He was arguing why he wanted to postpone the December 5 by-elections for Batu Sapi, a parliamentary constituency in Sabah.
On Wednesday, the Malaysian King accepted the government’s request to declare a state of emergency for the electoral district, thus postponing the by-elections.
In the last two months, the public has blamed the free mixing of politicians and voters in the campaign two weeks before the Sabah elections on September 26 for causing a further surge in infections in the state of Borneo.
Thousands of political activists along with cabinet ministers returned to their home states after state elections, prompting an increase in coronavirus cases in Malaysia.
Speaking live on television and on social media platforms, Tan Sri Muhyiddin said that although the Electoral Commission (EC) had established strict health protocols for Sabah’s state elections, compliance was very weak.
He added that the number of cases accumulated in the state was 808 on the day of the nomination on September 12, increasing by 91.5 percent to 1,547 cases on the day of the elections on September 26.
Four weeks later, on October 24, Sabah recorded 11,285 cumulative cases, becoming the first state in the country to record more than 10,000 cases.
As of Wednesday, Sabah had recorded 24,269 cases and 181 deaths.
Malaysia reported 660 new cases across the country on Wednesday, the first time the daily number has fallen below 700 a day this month.
Sabah reported the highest number of new cases (58.6%) followed by the Klang Valley (26.2%) and Negeri Sembilan (4.7%).
There were four new deaths to bring the total deaths caused by Covid-19 to 322.
Muhyiddin said that last Friday the cabinet discussed in detail the effects of the Batu Sapi by-elections if they were to take place while the Covid-19 pandemic was still contagious in Sabah.
“In making this consideration, the Cabinet took into account the consequences of the transmission of Covid-19 in Sabah after the September elections,” he said in his live speech.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin also said that the EC faced obstacles in trying to recruit poll workers for the Batu Sapi polls, as many feared they would catch it while on duty.
He said that as of November 6, the EC had only managed to appoint 143 electoral officials, which is only 17.1 percent of the 837 workers needed for by-elections.
The by-elections were called after the death in October of its federal legislator.
Muhyiddin said the by-elections would be held when the pandemic ended.
He also said that the Cabinet had sought the opinion of the Attorney General on the best way in terms of legislation and the Federal Constitution to postpone the by-elections to another date.
The Constitution states that any vacancy in Parliament must be filled within 60 days, once Parliament or the State Assembly has been formally informed of the vacancy.
“A state of emergency was declared in Batu Sapi, only to cancel and postpone the by-elections in order to protect the lives of the people. The lives of the people of Batu Sapi will not be affected by the declaration of emergency.
“There is no curfew and no military-style government in Batu Sapi. Government administration, economic activities and social activities may continue to be subject to the practice of new rules and regulations, as well as SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). under the conditional movement control order in Sabah, “said Mr. Muhyiddin.
[ad_2]
