Dr Kelvin Yii
KUCHING (July 28): The Sarawak state election should not be called until all necessary electoral reforms are implemented to protect the safety and health of all Sarawakians as well as their right to vote regardless of their location, said Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
According to him, the federal and state government must ensure that the necessary electoral reforms to ensure safer election processes are implemented first, on top of the 80 per cent vaccination rate in the state before calling for the state election amid the current Covid-19 pandemic.
“A localised Emergency must be declared in Sarawak until all those reforms are being finalised amid the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak is better controlled.
“This is in view of the recent announcement of possible revocation of the Emergency, which will result in Sarawak constitutionally needing to hold an election within 60 days of the revocation,” he said, adding that having a conventional election this year would be disastrous.
Dr Yii said the state and the country are still reeling from the health fallout from the recently concluded Sabah state election, which sparked the third wave all around the country.
“That should have served as a strong reminder that the necessary reforms must be in place to ensure that all Sarawakians can exercise their democratic right to vote in a safer environment,” he added.
Besides that, he said the presence of Variants of Concern (VOC) like the Delta variant which is more infectious and deadly must be taken into account and properly monitored before considering an election.
Meanwhile, Dr Yii said even as the state pushes to accelerate the its vaccination drive to achieve the targeted 80 per cent vaccination within Sarawak by August 2021, the rights of fellow Sarawakians living outside Sarawak who also have every right to exercise their democratic rights to vote must not be forgotten.
“Even if an election is called when 80 per cent of our population in Sarawak is vaccinated, the 14-day quarantine requirement for those travelling into Sarawak should still be in place as other states may not have achieved the required herd immunity by then.
“This will hinder Sarawakians living outside of Sarawak from coming back to exercise their right to vote,” he said.
In view of this, Dr Yii has urged the Election Commission (EC) to make necessary adjustments and procedural reforms, including implementing the necessary standard operating procedures (SOP) to enable absentee voting or extending postal voting for those working or studying outside the state especially in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Absentee or postal voting would make it easier for voters residing in other states to vote instead of them having to return home and causing a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases, and this will require the EC gazette out-of-region voters as advance voters eligible for postal voting under Regulation 3(1)(e) of the Elections (Advance Voting) Regulations 2012.
“In view of the pandemic, it is the EC’s duty to make it as convenient and safe as possible for voters to cast their votes. This includes safety and security measure to make sure any postal or absent voting process or facilities must be tamper-proof, transparent, fair and convenient for eligible voters so that it will instil public confidence on the system itself,” he said.