Senator Lang says the Sarawak state election should be postponed due to the pandemic

Senator Alan Ling

The Sarawak state election, which is currently scheduled to be held before year-end,  should be postponed to next year until the Covid-19 situation in the country is fully under control, said Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary Alan Ling.

Ling said the state government under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) should not hold the state election this year, as the country is still battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The daily infection does not show any improvements. In fact, it is getting worse. In Sarawak, the cases are still high even though there were days we see the cases below 200,” said the DAP senator.

Apart from the high number of infections recorded daily, Ling said there are still many Sarawak population that have yet to be vaccinated.

He explained that this was another reason to postpone the state election.

The Sarawak Legislative Assembly’s five-year term expired in June this year, but the election has been postponed following the declaration of Emergency by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong until Aug 1 this year.

If the Emergency were to be lifted on Aug 1, the Sarawak state election must be called within 60 days.

On another note, he said DAP Sarawak and other Pakatan Harapan (PH) component parties are fully prepared to face the state polls, regardless of when it is going to be held.