September, October likeliest months for polls?

In the third part of this series, political pundits weigh in on when Sarawak’s Emergency-delayed election could finally be held amid the prevailing Covid-19 threat

THE 12th Sarawak election will be Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)’s first after its rebranding following the collapse of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in the 2018 general polls, and it is no secret that it had intended to seek the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) before the end of last year.

The coalition had hoped for a break in the Covid-19 pandemic, but with the number of infections fluctuating daily and with Sabah’s ordeal after it held snap elections in September still fresh on people’s minds, there was no certainty that the Sarawak polls could be held safely.

But when the New Year arrived, all hope of holding the polls before the expiry of DUN Sarawak this Sunday seemed to have evaporated completely.

Covid-19 cases had exploded in Sarawak and due to the deteriorating situation across the country, the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah decided to declare the Emergency, in force from Jan 12 to Aug 1 this year.

Under the Emergency Proclamation, no elections could be held but the federal and state governments would function as usual.

But the question that continues to loom large is when the state polls can be held and so far, this much seems certain – it would only be after August, or after Sarawak has achieved the desired herd immunity against Covid-19.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin recently gave the clearest indication yet on when the state polls could be held.

He told reporters during a visit to Kuching that the accelerated pace of Covid-19 vaccinations in Sarawak was necessary as the state was legally required to hold its polls within 60 days after the scheduled lifting of the Emergency this Aug 1.

“I don’t know if you remember what happened during the Sabah state election; if Sarawak is not fully vaccinated by the time they have their state elections, not only Sarawak but the entire country of Malaysia is at risk of another wave, and we cannot afford that.

“So it’s not a political preference, rather it’s a legal requirement for Sarawak to have its election within 60 days after the Emergency is lifted,” said Khairy.

The Sarawak government hopes to complete the vaccination of more than two million people by the end of August, some six months ahead of the national immunisation plan’s target.

Political scientist Assoc Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya believed that September or October were therefore, the likeliest months for the election to be called if the nationwide Emergency Order were to be lifted on Aug 1 as scheduled.

“A September election can be expected, although the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong has advised for the Sarawak government to function as usual with the powers under the Emergency Ordinance (Essential Powers) 2021, which has been enforced due to the rather worrying situation of Covid-19.

“The state government can carry out its duties as usual during an Emergency, but if it had a chance to hold the election, it should hold the election.

“This is because the state government would need to table and pass the 2022 Sarawak Budget at the DUN. This budget is important for the people and also for the government’s fight against Covid-19.

“But if the Covid-19 situation does not get better by August, then I believe the election could be held in October, or even later this year,” said Awang Azman.

Following the declaration of Emergency, the power to dissolve the DUN is now with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong in consultation with Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak, in line with Articles 13 and 15 of the Emergency Ordinance (Essential Powers) 2021.

University of Tasmania’s Prof James Chin said dissolving the DUN and holding the state election soon would not be a good idea in view of the country’s ongoing war against Covid-19.

The political analyst believed that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and the Sarawak government would not want to see a repeat of what happened in Sabah after it had its snap election last year.

In November last year, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had admitted that the Sabah polls had caused a wave of Covid-19 infections in the country.

Chin felt that the state’s ruling coalition would not want to risk holding the polls when the number of infections was still high, given that its support was mainly concentrated in the rural areas and very likely, holding an election now would spell problems for voters in those areas.

“I have been told that Covid-19 is spreading rapidly in the longhouses. As you know, the rural areas are the most important areas for GPS, so I don’t think that the GPS would want to hold a state election in the midst of Covid-19 spike,” said Chin.

Regarding the virtual meeting between Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong recently, Chin viewed it as being more to do with the legal aspects of how the Sarawak state government could function during the time of Emergency and when Sarawak could hold its election.

Following the virtual meeting on May 25, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) had issued a statement that said that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong would decide when Sarawak DUN would be dissolved.

It pointed out that following the Declaration of Emergency, the power to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly is now with the Agong, in consultation with Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak, in line with Articles 13 and 15 of the Emergency Ordinance (Essential Powers) 2021.

The CMO added that the Agong had, after looking at the worrying Covid-19 situation, advised the Sarawak government to continue functioning as usual, vested with the powers provided for under the said ordinance.

Rise of Sarawak Efforts (ROSE) president Ann Teo, meanwhile, said the Election Commission (EC) should come up with standard operating procedures (SOP) and speed up its preparations for Sarawak to face an election safely.

“This can include planning and adopting robust absentee-voting mechanisms to reduce voters’ movements, such as postal voting and advance voting.

“Other things to make voting safer include holding campaigns online, with equal time given to each political party to speak on state or national television and radio broadcasts,” she said.

Simon Siah from Lawyer Kamek for Change concurred that the EC must come up with an extensive SOP for the election, such as no house-to-house campaigning or public ‘ceramah’ (talks), putting in place postal voting for Sarawakians staying in Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah, and appropriate voting hours.

“In my opinion, the democratic process must continue, with proper strict SOP in place.

“This has been done in other countries such as Singapore, the United States and Britain,” he said.

We’re not in a hurry, but we wouldn’t want to overstay (our welcome) either. We’re not overly excited about an election, considering the number of Covid-19 cases being recorded daily. — Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, GPS secretary-general

When contacted, GPS secretary-general Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the state’s ruling coalition would be ready to go into the battlefield once the election date had been fixed.

“We’re not in a hurry, but we wouldn’t want to overstay (our welcome) either,” he said.

However Nanta, who is the federal Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, declined to speculate on when the state polls could be held, but conceded that the state needed to pass its Budget for next year.

“We’re not overly excited about an election, considering the number of Covid-19 cases being recorded daily.

However, it would be nice to be able to table and pass the Budget for next year.

“The Chief Minister (Abang Johari) will announce a state election only when the cases have dropped to a reasonable number,” he said.

Sarawak’s cumulative Covid-19 infections is approaching 50,000, the fifth highest in the country, with more than 300 deaths.