KUCHING: While saying the emergency should have excluded Sarawak, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Women chief Datuk Seri Doris Brodie views its implementation as a blessing in disguise.
She pointed out that Sarawak was doing well in combating Covid-19, hence emergency should only be enforced in states that were badly affected by the pandemic.
Nevertheless, she emphasised that health is wealth.
“With Sarawak unable to hold its State Election until the emergency is lifted, we can now be less anxious about health issues during the election period,” she said, while noting that the term of the current Legislative Assembly would expire in June this year.
“However, many Sarawakians out there are concerned and anxious with the proclamation of emergency as it makes Sarawak ‘toothless’,” she said when contacted today.
She said during this period, the federation’s executive power would extend to cover all provisions under the legislative authority of a state.
On economy, Doris noted that Bursa Malaysia was not only lacklustre since the announcement of the movement control order (MCO) but had dipped further after Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah declared the state of emergency.
“This is going to impact our economy hard and the ripple effect may linger for a while,” she said.
She noted that the emergency was proclaimed due to the recent surge in Covid-19 cases nationwide with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin saying that the nation’s healthcare system was at breaking point.
“Such a situation is perhaps deemed detrimental to the security, economy and public order of the country, and that the regular administrative system was also no longer able to cope with the situation,” she said.
