Minister Dismisses Claims Cabinet Wants Simultaneous Sarawak Malacca Polls

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A cabinet minister has dismissed speculation that they want both the Malacca and Sarawak state elections to be held simultaneously.
When contacted, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said the federal government and Sarawak state government have left it to the Election Commission (EC) to decide the date for the state polls.
"I don't think there is (any) decision to say that the Sarawak polls will be held together with the Malacca polls.
"For Malacca, we (the cabinet) would just leave it to the EC to decide. The (Sarawak) state government also left it to the EC to make the call," he said.
"This (simultaneous polls) is possible if the EC thinks it is good to have it, but we are not in the position to say so. It's for the EC to decide if it is ready to do so," said Alexander, who is also the GPS secretary-general and Kapit MP.
Speculation has been rife about a purported cabinet decision last week for both state polls to be held together.
The Malacca election must be held by Dec 3 - which is 60 days after the state legislative assembly was dissolved following a failed coup attempt.
The EC is set to announce a date for the state election tomorrow (Oct 18).
While the nationwide emergency to contain the spread of Covid-19 was lifted in August, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong extended the state of emergency for Sarawak from Aug 2 to Feb 2 of next year.
This means no elections will be held there until then.
The current term of the Sarawak state legislative assembly, which was supposed to expire on June 6, remains in effect due to the emergency status.
The Agong can, however, decide to lift the emergency earlier after taking into consideration the views of the state government.
It is learned that GPS and the state government want the state polls to be held immediately.
Alexander confirmed that GPS leaders were generally of the opinion that the Sarawak election should be held soon before the monsoon season hits the state at the end of the year.
"The monsoon is expected to hit us from December to February. This is a major concern too. In the past, we have always avoided having state polls during the rainy season," he said.
"Apart from this, the Covid-19 figures have also declined in Sarawak while the vaccination rate exceeded 80 percent.
"For the record, Sarawak is the earliest state to receive vaccination and we don't want to be caught in a situation of vaccine efficacy waning over time," he added.
Alexander said they are unsure if there will be another Covid-19 spike early next year but they would rather not want to face that uncertainty.
"Now, the state government feels it's an opportune time (for the state election)," he said. - Mkini

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