Warisan Leader Mocks Hajiji S Excuse For Emergency Extension

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Aziz Jamman (left) says Hajiji Noor’s comment shows he is far more concerned about the polls than the well-being of Sabahans.KOTA KINABALU: Warisan today slammed chief minister Hajiji Noor for proposing a six-month extension to the state of emergency in Sabah to avoid the two delayed by-elections in the state.
According to party’s Sepanggar MP Azis Jamman, Hajiji, who is the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman, made himself a laughing stock with his proposal.
Azis, who is Warisan Youth chief, said Hajiji should have instead looked for better excuses for the proposal.
“The contention made by the GRS chairman tells us that GRS is far more concerned about the election than the well-being of Sabahans,” he said, in a statement today.
“Irrespective of what other leaders in GRS may say, it is what lies in the mind of the chief minister who holds the executive power that will be taken into account.”
Azis contended that Hajiji had showcased his ignorance by citing the delayed by-elections in Bugaya and Batu Sapi as the reasons why the emergency in Sabah should be extended.
“This is because even if the emergency is lifted nationwide, the delayed by-elections will still be subject to prior assessment and approval by the health director-general and National Security Council (MKN) on whether it is safe to proceed.
Hajiji had yesterday said the state government supported the extension of the emergency for a further six months, given the possibility of a spike in Covid-19 cases if by-elections for the vacant Batu Sapi parliamentary and Bugaya state seats were to proceed.
Azis said, irrespective of whether there is an emergency, both constituencies will still register a sudden increase in infections if the population disregard the SOPs.
Thankfully, he said, people in Bugaya and Batu Sapi – seats both held by Warisan before their incumbents passed away – adhered to the constant reminders by party president Shafie Apdal on the need to combat the virus together.
“So the onus now rests upon the Bugaya and Batu Sapi folks to show and prove to GRS leaders, particularly Hajiji, who had in one way or another, shown his distrust to them over their perceived inability to maintain the SOPs,” he said.
The former deputy home minister also said that if GRS leaders still insisted on the excuse of delaying by-elections in Bugaya and Batu Sapi, there was no logic in placing the whole state under emergency.
“Just put Bugaya and Batu Sapi under emergency. Then we can have the state assembly sitting which is long overdue.”
Meanwhile, GRS component party Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) said the government should consider carefully whether a localised emergency should be imposed on Batu Sapi like how it was done last year.
SAPP president Yong Teck Lee said this is because a by-election can cause a spike in Covid-19 cases that can bring the state back to square one in the fight against the pandemic.
“Upon the expiration of the emergency, it is constitutionally possible that a by-election be held for the Batu Sapi constituency as the incumbent MP had passed away late last year,” he said, in a statement. - FMT

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