MIRI: The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) welcomes and thanks the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for declaring a state of emergency for Sarawak effective August 2, 2021 to February 2, 2022, effectively preventing the state election from being held anytime soon.
“Following to the Agong’s proclamation, there will be no election in the next six months and the Sarawak government can continue to focus on fighting the pandemic and reviving the economy,” said SUPP secretary general Datuk Sebastian Ting yesterday.
“We have always emphasised that fighting the pandemic is our top priority. Saving human lives is more important than anything else. We cannot let more lives of our dear fellow Sarawakians being killed by Covid-19. That is painful and a tragedy to any family,” he explained.
Ting added that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari had also constantly emphasised on the importance of fighting the pandemic and to stop playing politics to score political points for the elections.
The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is committed to “Sarawak First” that prioritises Sarawak and treasure the lives of Sarawak people, he pointed out.
“We believe that the top priority now is to ensure that the pandemic is flattened while we vigorously promote economic recovery, so that the people of Sarawak can restore their livelihoods and return to their normal lives,” he said.
The extension of the state of emergency in Sarawak would allow the relevant authorities to concentrate on the anti-epidemic task which would be fully supported by the state government and the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
“We believe that only when the pandemic is fully controlled and the situation is truly safe, can Sarawak then consider for elections to be held and the mandate is returned to the people of Sarawak so that voters can exercise their power to elect a new government. Under a democratic system, elections are certainly important and sacred procedure but the safety of the people must remain the top priority,” Ting said.
