PETALING JAYA: Two more by-elections have been postponed to prevent another surge in the spread of Covid-19 infections.
The decision by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to consent to a declaration of emergency in the Gerik parliamentary constituency in Perak and the Bugaya state constituency in Sabah to enable the postponement has not only brought relief all round but also drew praise from analysts.
Last month, the by-election for the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat was postponed for the same reason. Voting had been slated for Dec 5 before Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin sought the King’s consent to declare an emergency in the constituency.
The dates for the Gerik and Bugaya contests have yet to be fixed.
The seats fell vacant with the passing of Datuk Hasbullah Osman of Gerik on Nov 16 and Manis Muka Mohd Dara of Bugaya on Nov 17.
Political analyst Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the country “simply cannot endure” another spike in infections similar to the surge that followed the Sept 26 Sabah polls.
“This is the best decision for now. We are still recording a high number of new Covid-19 cases daily and the Sabah elections had contributed to it,” he told theSun yesterday.
Muhyiddin said the Cabinet had discussed in detail the impact the Gerik and Bugaya by-elections would have if they were to be held at a time when Covid-19 is still spreading.
Awang Azman said any by-election can only be considered once the number of new cases starts dropping drastically.
“Any by-election or elections can only happen from March if the situation gets better. The number of cases needs to drop below 100 for it to be considered.”
He added the people of Gerik and Bugaya need not worry about the state of emergency, as it is just a formality.
“Economic, social and other activities can still proceed as usual.”
Prof Jeniri Amir, senior fellow at the Malaysian Council of Professors, said the safety of the people is above everything else.
“We should learn from what happened in Sabah. Protecting life is most important. Otherwise, we are courting trouble.”
Jeniri said the delay in the by-elections will not change the position of the government of the day.
The three seats – Batu Sapi, Gerik and Bugaya – will remain vacant until by-elections are held.
Jeniri also called for Malaysia to follow in the steps of countries that have postponed elections because of the pandemic.
According to election portal, ElectionGuide, 67 countries and eight territories have postponed electoral events due to Covid-19 as of Nov 23.
They include Brazil, Argentina, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia and New Zealand.
