The Malaysian government is looking at ways to defer or suspend elections because of the surge in Covid-19 cases, two ministers told Parliament this week.
Bound by the Constitution, the government is currently unable to stop a Sabah by-election on Dec 5 as well as a state election in Sarawak, due after June next year.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Special Functions) Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof told Parliament on Monday that large gatherings during the Sabah state election in September had caused the country's current Covid-19 surge.
"Election is under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission and I am unable to provide further information on whether a by-election or a general election can or cannot be held but the government is always monitoring.
"If need be, create a specific Act; the government is studying and making proposals to the people," he said on Monday in reply to a question in Parliament.
Another minister yesterday however told Parliament that legislation to suspend elections would be contrary to the federal Constitution.
"The creation of a Bill to postpone an election during the Covid-19 pandemic is against and inconsistent with the federal Constitution, and to amend it would require the support of two-thirds of MPs," said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Takiyuddin Hassan.
Datuk Takiyuddin said the government could instead invoke an emergency. "The government may propose to postpone an election if this pandemic is deemed to be declared an emergency as provided under Article 150 (1) of the federal Constitution," he said yesterday, without elaborating, in a written reply to Barisan Nasional MP Mahdzir Khalid.
On Oct 25, the King rejected a controversial request from Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for emergency powers.
Datuk Seri Mahdzir on Monday had asked the Prime Minister if the government had any plans to amend the Constitution, or create a specific Bill to enable an election to be postponed amid the pandemic.
Sabah is set to hold a by-election in Batu Sapi on Dec 5, following the death of state opposition MP Liew Vui Keong.
Yesterday, Sabah recorded 678 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the state to 16,873. The cumulative death toll for the state is 131.
Nationwide, a record 1,054 positive cases were reported, bringing the total number to 34,393. The death toll so far is 263.
The deteriorating Covid-19 situation has prompted Malaysia's Health Ministry to call for amendments to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act to allow for elections to be deferred for safety reasons.
Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah was quoted as saying on Oct 30 by local news site Free Malaysia Today: "Back in 1988, we were only looking at infectious diseases within a locality but now we have to look at it on a nationwide and even global scale.
"We need to amend and strengthen the Act for future use. We have sent a proposal for amendments to the Attorney-General's Chambers and we hope they will be reviewed as soon as possible."
He added that it is not suitable for elections to be carried out as the current infection rate still had not met the ministry's target of less than 0.5.
