James Masing
KUCHING (June 17): The impending lifting of the Emergency on Aug 1 is likely to put Sarawak in a political and social conundrum, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing.
The Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president said he feared the 80 per cent herd immunity Malaysia had hoped to achieve may not be attainable, thus Malaysians should not go back to their pre-Covid-19 lives after Aug 1.
In a statement today, Masing opined the practice of parliamentary democracy at a time of a health crisis such as Covid-19 is not necessary.
“However, the laws say once Emergency is lifted, democracy can be practised and Parliament can sit and general elections may be held if required. The King has stated as such.
“The lifting of Emergency on Aug 1 will Sarawak in a real political and social conundrum. We are not out of the woods yet,” he said.
Yesterday, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said Parliament should convene as soon as possible to enable proper discussion of the Emergency Ordinance and the country’s Covid-19 recovery plan.
According to Masing, Sarawak “is stuck between a hard rock and a deep blue sea” and the state had to act according to the law.
“We have to follow the laws. That is definite. The laws say the Sarawak 12th state election must be held by October this year,” he pointed out.
When this happens, he said the people must strictly adhere to the health guidelines set by the Ministry of Health.
He stressed enforcement agencies including the Election Commission (EC) and Royal Malaysia Police must prohibit face to face campaigning and penalise anyone caught breaking this rule.
Masing suggested the EC should increase the number of workers and more ballot boxes should be used in rural constituencies.
He also suggested bringing ballot boxes to voters instead of the usual approach of voters going to their respective polling stations to cast their votes.
“The polling time should be extended as this will allow physical distancing when voters cast their votes. The time between nomination and polling should also be minimised within the limit of our election laws,” he said.
According to him, if such measures are not put in place, low turnout of voters could be expected.
“It’s a delicate balance between democracy and the lives of the people. The decision-makers in any democratic nation must be intelligent enough to choose between the practice of democracy and the safety of human lives,” he added.