EMERGENCY FOR #COVID19 CAN ONLY DELAY POLLS.

There are ways to hold polls and its up to the Election Committee and the Ministry of Health to come up with the necessary Standard Operating Procedures{ SOPS. }.

Certainly, at this particular moment the 3rd Wave is hitting us in Malaysia and also in Sarawak and we need to be Vigilant and extra careful as the VIRUS if not contained will turn UGLY “more affected and more deaths”.

A mandate needs to given by the voters to ensure that the Government functions without any disruption and in the case of Sarawak it must be held as per the constitution by August 2021.

This unless in the case of Sarawak there is a huge spike in numbers by the thousands and an EMERGENCY is declared .

What then is the solution? Any suggestions for the SOPS.

We could think of one {1} though for the EC to consider and that is “ENSURING the 55 and Above Voters go to POLLS early within the stipulated time from 8am to 11am.”

After that, the general public will vote from 11a.m to the end of polling time.

But for now,many netcitizens are against Sarawak Polls and if it is held after the DUN sitting in November where it might be dissolved and before the New year 2021 the Government of the Day will need to bear the consequences.

We just hope the Government will listen to the ground feel and it is not ABSOLUTE to go to the Polls for now as the #COVID19 cases keeps piling up.

The Frontliners especially the Police Force, the Election workers plus party campaigners will be at the the top risk groups.

Their families and friends would be praying for their safety and who knows some will also even come up with ‘realistic reasons” to avoid been thrown into a difficult situation.

Their family and lives matters and duty will come a distant second.

You too would also THINK OF THAT we are pretty sure…!!e….!!!

The certified testimony in the recently concluded SNAP POLLS OF SABAH where harsh lessons are unearthed by the deaths through exposure of #COVID19 directly or indirectly.

We in Sarawak for that matter cannot use the Singapore,New Zealand ,South Korea formula as the countries are completely different in terms of DEMOGRAPHY and BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS.

{EXTRACTED FROM ONLINE PORTAL BELOW:-}

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has expressed concern that the upcoming Batu Sapi by-election in Sabah, and a possible Sarawak state election, could worsen the spread of Covid-19.

However, he said the Federal Constitution and Sarawak state constitution dictates that elections must be held if a seat falls vacant or if the state assembly is dissolved.

“What can be done? That is what the Constitution dictates, thus we are forced to have elections.

“Unless an emergency is declared as per Article 150 in Batu Sapi and Sarawak, then we can postpone both elections until the Covid-19 (pandemic) ends.

“If the elections can’t be postponed for any reason, my plea to voters in Batu Sapi and Sarawak is – be careful. Take care of yourselves, follow the SOPs (standard operating procedures) with full discipline when elections come,” he said in a televised address today.

His speech comes a week after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong turned down the government’s request for a national emergency.

Twitter “Removes Former PM Malaysia Tweet”

Whatever we posts it will be under close scrutinisation and there is no escape from the cyber security marshalls employed by the Big Corporate players in the cyber field.

We must at all times be careful and please do not put yourself in the LIMELIGHT for the wrong reasons.

Extracted from an online portal with thanks.

By John Isaac

TWITTER has removed one of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s tweets which it initially marked as “glorifying violence”.

The tweet has been replaced with the message: “This tweet violated the Twitter Rules.”

Earlier, Dr Mahathir has said that Muslims have a “right to punish” the French for its past “massacres”, as violence continues to rear its ugly head in France, adding however that Muslims have not taken vengeance in this way..

According to The Star, he posted on Twitter yesterday, just a few hours after a knife attack outside Nice, France, saw three people killed and others injured.

“Muslims have a right to be angry and to kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past. But by and large, the Muslims have not applied the ‘eye for an eye’ law. Muslims don’t. The French shouldn’t. Instead the French should teach their people to respect other people’s feelings, ” he wrote in his blog, chedet, with similar text also shared on his Twitter account, chedetofficial.

“Since you have blamed all Muslims and the Muslims’ religion for what was done by one angry person, the Muslims have a right to punish the French. The boycott cannot compensate the wrongs committed by the French all these years, ” he added in his writing that is directed at French president Emmanuel Macron.

In the post, Dr Mahathir also described Macron as “not civilised” and “primitive” for seeming to blame Islam and its believers after a teacher was beheaded earlier this month in Paris after he used cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad in class as teaching material during a civics lesson.

“It is not in keeping with the teachings of Islam. But irrespective of the religion professed, angry people kill. The French in the course of their history have killed millions of people. Many were Muslims, ” said Dr Mahathir, where he also claimed that the West is trying to impose its values on others by force.

“Generally, the West no longer adhere to their own religion. They are Christians in name only. That is their right.

“But they must not show disrespect for the values of others, for the religion of others. It is a measure of the level of their civilisation to show this respect, ” he wrote.

France’s Junior Digital Affairs Minister Cédric O said he had spoken to the country head of Twitter to immediately suspend Dr Mahathir’s official account.

“If not, Twitter would be an accomplice to murder, ” he tweeted.

Elections only “when safer and appropriate even if #Covid19 is around” says Karim

As the Positive #Covid19 cases surged there are calls for the 12th Sarawak Elections to be put back till the “appropriate time”

Even today 29/10/20 the Education Ministry (MOE) has ordered all schools in Kuching red zones to close from tomorrow (Oct 30) until Nov 13, amid a rise in Covid-19 cases in Sarawak’s capital city.

Everyone is concerned and of course there is a cause for alarm and now POLITICS needs to take a back seat. Karim gave his view points and pointed out that there is A NEED TO SEEK A NEW MANDATE for the Sarawak Government.

It will most likely be held in 2021 with SOPS for elections clearly specified by the Election Commission and the Ministry of Health Guidelines.

We just wait for the Dissolution and the EC will fix the date thereafter within 60 days.

{Extracted from an Online Portal with thanks}

KUCHING: A state minister says the surge in Covid-19 cases in Sabah after the polls there should not be cited as a reason for Sarawak to put off its election.

Tourism minister and PBB vice-president Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the high number of illegal immigrants in Sabah, and local residents staying in highly populated communes were among the factors contributing to the spread of Covid-19 in that state.

He said the Election Commission (EC) did not come up with stringent SOPs for the campaign period as well as nomination and polling days after the dissolution of the Sabah assembly.

“Various political parties went on with campaign activities and stricter SOPs were not imposed, which led to the spike in the number of cases after the polls,” Karim told FMT.

“We acknowledge the concern of health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, who has advised against holding any election for now in view of the pandemic, but the scenario in Sarawak is different.

”Besides, we must hold the state election by June, unless an emergency is declared, which is unlikely to happen.”

Therefore, he said, there was no way for Sarawak to avoid holding its state election as the current term of the state assembly would expire in a few months’ time.

Asked if the state government would consider waiting for all the districts to be categorised as Covid-19 green zones before dissolving the assembly, Karim said: “No one can foresee what is going to happen next, whether there is a hike or drop in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state.”

He said the state government would monitor the situation and call for an election when it was “safer and appropriate even if Covid-19 is still around”.

“Otherwise, the state assembly will be dissolved automatically, regardless of whether Sarawak is a red zone or green zone.”

Karim said the EC and health ministry must come up with stricter SOPs to prevent Covid-19 from spreading during the state election without curtailing the rights of citizens to vote.

Pandemic #COVID19. “MOH says No to Elections for Time Being.”

The Third Wave of #COVID19 is here and it is not only affecting Malaysia but also Sarawak now. There is so much talk plus many opinions on having the Sarawak Elections which is due next year 2021.

Of course we need to have a NEW MANDATE but only if MOH or the Relevant Authorities gives it and all clear. The Elections Commission personnels,police forces and many frontliners will be involved in a State Wide Elections.

NO ONE WOULD GAMBLE THEIR LIVES JUST TO VOTE OR BE INVOLVED IF THE PANDEMIC COVID19 IS RAGING AND CLAIMING LIVES.!!

Extracted from an online portal:-

PUTRAJAYA: The Ministry of Health (MoH) has recommended that no election be held for the time being, said its director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

However, he said, if the election could not be avoided, in following the Federal Constitution, it would hold a discussion with the Election Commission (EC) to look into different means of conducting the election.

“(Firstly), no cross-border and no cross-district (travel), and no ‘balik kampung’ for the election. Secondly, no (mass) gatherings, and thirdly, no house-to-house visits. These are the three main issues that we need to discuss with the EC, and whether we can implement the use of postal votes and so on. We can continue to discuss with the EC to improve the situation.

“As far as the MOH is concerned, we only give recommendations. If it cannot be avoided, you still have to do the election, under the Constitution, then we have to look into the SOP (standard operating procedure) on how we can conduct the election and minimise infection.

“Even though the SOP is available, more importantly is compliance with the SOP. I think we have seen and learned this from Sabah (election). We hope we don’t need to repeat the consequences of an election in other states,” he said at a press conference on the update of Covid-19 at the ministry here yesterday.

Earlier, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government would discuss with the EC to set a tighter SOP for the Batu Sapi parliamentary by-election on Dec 5, to ensure the people’s health would not be compromised when they go out to vote in the by-election.

Ismail Sabri also said that the government was not empowered to disallow the holding of any election as the matter was under the jurisdiction of the EC.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham also advised every non-governmental organisation (NGO), planning to assist those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, to do so under the MOH.

He said this would ensure that all participants would receive basic training such as infection control and achieve coordination in terms of where to go and what to do, hence, both parties could complement each other.

“There are two types of NGOs. One, they go on their own without informing the MOH. But our fear is that they (NGO members) will get infected, especially those who do not have experience in infection control. The intention is good but we also need to protect the NGOs.

“Look at our frontliners, even they get infected, what more the NGO members going to the ground. We also have a
few NGO members already forming a cluster after coming back from Sabah. In Selangor, for example, a few of our staff also got infected,” he added. — Bernama

Malaysia’s Political Marathon Drama

Embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin who has been battling the Pandemic #COVID19 seems to have weathered the storm for now.

It remains to be seen though what will happen to his administration as the opposition will be hell bent on toppling his PN Government.

For now, there seems to be ceasefire in the political front but will it last?

{extracted from online portal}

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — Umno’s decision last night to continue propping up the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is a political lifeline for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, but doubts remain as to how long his administration can last without reaching out to other political parties for support.

While Umno said last night it would seek national reconciliation, it also ruled out working with PKR or DAP to appease its base. This gives Muhyiddin little room to manoeuvre.

The threat of defections from Umno to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also remains.

For now, all political parties are likely to heed the advice of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and ensure Muhyiddin’s Budget 2021, to be tabled next month, passes without incident in a bid to reverse the havoc the Covid-19 pandemic has wrought on the country’s economy.

Despite the high stakes political drama of the past few days, it is very much status quo for Muhyiddin, in that the challenges he was facing previously still loom large. With the exception that he has now been wounded by what is widely seen as a rebuke in the form of the King’s refusal to declare a state of emergency.ADVERTISING

Umno will almost certainly want to add to the pressure by continuing to push for more concessions from Muhyiddin in the form of either more seats at the table or more senior positions in Cabinet.

Malay Mail understands that Muhyiddin’s camp has already reached out to some Opposition parties for support, but that too will come with its own demands.

For example, DAP senator Liew Chin Tong yesterday said that in order to secure political support from the Opposition, Muhyiddin will be expected to drop Senior Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin from the Cabinet.

Options on the table include cobbling together a new coalition or possibly a national unity government.

But all of these come with their own problems and challenges.

Whether with Umno or Opposition parties, the political horse trading will continue to burden the current administration, and with a general election seemingly off the table because of the pandemic, it is looking like an impasse no matter which path Muhyiddin chooses.

Senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Oh Ei Sun, said forming a unity government would depend largely on the eagerness of the various party members to work together and it could end up being like an arranged marriage.

“I frankly think all cards are on the table to scramble together a majority coalition. Now that the Agong has called on all sides to unite, that can be considered as a ‘clarion call’, previous preferences of individual parties notwithstanding.

“I mean when push comes to shove, all parties would have to choose between short-term political marriages of convenience with strange political bedfellows on the one hand, and long-term possible erosion of their respective support bases due to such political unions,” Oh told Malay Mail.

“It’s like arranged marriages,” he added.

Meanwhile, political scientist Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid said that a unity government should include everyone who is capable and experienced.

“As its name goes, a national unity government would preferably be represented by the most able MPs regardless of party affiliations, plus a reasonable number of apolitical experts who could be appointed as senators in order for them to become members of the executive,” the professor said.

While a unity government appears to be an ideal solution, it was also rejected outright when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad proposed the move in February just after he quit as prime minister.

For now, Muhyiddin will have to depend on short-term confidence and supply arrangements with the Opposition, while dealing with the simmering rebellion from political partner Umno to ensure the Budget is passed.

This move may find bipartisan support, as electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 has also recently urged the Opposition to agree not to vote against PN in votes of confidence or budgetary matters, while reserving the right to oppose other legislations.

But for Malaysia, political uncertainty and instability is likely here to stay in the foreseeable future.

“Covid19,Federal Budget 2021 or No Confidence Vote..??”

The #Covid19 pandemic is still very much the conversation amongst the people in Malaysia. However it seems some political leaders and “macais’ are hellbent on creating another crisis of some sort by asking the PM to resign or his two lieutenants when a PM Cabinet decision was turned down by the Malay rulers for a “Declaration of an Emergency.”

This was the opening they needed to push their agendas forward. Haven’t we heard of the term too often,”CRISIS BREEDS OPPORTUNITIES”

Albert Einstein said, “in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.”

Well today the social media fraternity is flooded with all arguments for and against and we leave it to the people to make their own judgement for the BETTER GOOD OF THE NATION WE LIVE IN TODAY.

The list of writeup an articles are listed below:-

1. https://www.msn.com/en-my/news/national/new-narrative-after-pm-s-royal-endorsement-poses-budget-dilemma-for-ph/ar-BB1aogYn?ocid=msedgdhp
2. https://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/?p=196531
3. https://www.msn.com/en-my/news/national/bersih-2-0-suggests-3-options-for-pm-to-end-political-crisis/ar-BB1anTbj?ocid=msedgdhp

Read and be well verse on the ongoing crisis of what the Political leaders and macais have up their sleeves.

A NO CONFIDENCE VOTE COMING UP AGAIN?

But we must as always #uniteagainstcovid19 and #staysafe for our families and loved ones.

PRN12 Tussling for “Traditional Seats”

There has been a fair BIT OF BICKERING amongst GPS component parties on the issue of “TRADITIONAL SEATS” lately which has given an injection of impetus for the Opposition based parties in Sarawak. Likewise, it has also affected the main opposition component parties.

We wrote in 2011 that a Veteran Politician said REMEMBER this ,”DAP Harps on GIVE US ONE [1} ROCKET to fight for your rights in DUN Sarawak”

Did they achieve it? You know the answer very well and how they DAP went about having a grip at the seats and nearly Royal flushed SUPP.

The late CM Adenan reverse the trend in 2016 by using his personal political charm plus charisma to reverse the winning streak of DAP and the opposition.

Do we need to say further or specify our argument ? We will just put up 3 points for now for all to digest.

Number 1.

Let’s be very clear about the situation as of now. Sarawak was a component party,member and ally in Barisan Nasional Malaysia for a good 47 years. PBB and SUPP have been with BN since 1973 while PDP joined the coalition in 2002 followed by PRS in 2004.

The decision of who will be a candidate for a particular constituency lies not only with the CM Sarawak but also PM Malaysia and Barisan Nasional Chairman.

Who will sign the WATIKAH today?

You very well know right…

Number 2.

When BN Government lost the Federal elections in GE14 Sarawak parties took a bold step in starting a new local based coalition in Gabungan Parti Sarawak [GPS}

The 4 parties are Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak (PBB), Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP)

CM Abang Johari said, “We believe that it is timely and appropriate for Sarawak to embark on a new political platform going forward, in order to face challenges in line with the changing aspirations, needs and demands of a very wide range of cross-section of Sarawak populace. Sarawak is uniquely a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religion state,”

It’s a New Entity and the next Sarawak elections will be a MAIDEN OUTING. The landscape has changed further with the change of Federal Government in Pakatan Harapan to today Perikatan Nasional.

There is nothing to hide for CM Abang Jo as he will know that the threat does not come from outside forces but what is within the coalition. There are many aspirants and YB Wannabees who think they can champion the rakyat at the seats they are eyeing.

They will be many interesting exchanges of fiery words but the CM Sarawak will need to carefully choose his soldiers to war in the 82 seats. Its also his first time as Commander in Chief in A State election and he will not leave anything to chance.

He knows too that PH in DAP/PKR/AMANAH, PSB,PBK and other parties plus independents will be after his TEAM and will “even go ugly” to try to wrestle the seats from the ruling GPS Component parties.

Number 3.

PBB Vice President and Tourism and Sports Minister in Abang Joharis cabinet said this in a recent interview with an Online Portal,”There should not be such things as “traditional seats” as all rights remains with the people of Sarawak.”

THINGS HAVE CHANGED. IN MOST DEMOCRACIES COALITION GOVERNMENT ARE DETERMINED AFTER ELECTIONS.

IF YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING,YOU DONT DESERVE TO BE A CANDIDATE THERE AND YOUR PARTY DONT DESERVE TO BE THERE.

One can listen to the full interview here:

https://dayakdaily.com/https-youtu-be-t8lxllxtrhu/

Like we always say when there is infighting within there will give an impetus an also an opening which will benefit the opposition. In any elections there will of course be casualties and this time around will be no different.

The Political parties in Sarawak will put their Election Manifestoes, Rhetories, Winnable candidates against one another. But it does boil down very much to how the NEW POLITICAL PARADIGM and also how the Commander in Chiefs lead their Charges ahead.

A very wise and a very appropriate political saying which we treasure is this by our former CM Taib,’We’ve to learn and learning how to be humble to serve our people, especially when we will continue to face CHALLENGERS AND CHANGES with the tide of TIME.“

Many people know many things in terms of strategies and political experiences. They are even some who have all put together an application of indestructible and impenetrable winning margins.

But we just ask you one thing,: WAS THE TITANIC UNSINKABLE?”

Until the next time lets not be too complacent and look after ourselves well #staysafe as we still are in the midst of a Pandemic war against #COVID19.

Latest Update #Covid19 Cases in Sarawak 24/10/20

DCM Sarawak advises everyone to be Vigilant and follow the SOP

COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Most infected people will develop mild to moderate illness and recover without hospitalization.

Most common symptoms: 1.feverdry 2.cough 3.tiredness

#uniteagainstcovid19 #staysafe #wearamask #SOP #socialdistancing #Sarawak #Ibupertiwiku

So we must all ensure that we follow the Standard operating procedures [SOP] or we will suffer the consequences.

They always say,”Better Be Safe Than Sorry”

{Extracted from an online portal with thanks}

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas has revealed that Sarawak has recorded eight new Covid-19 cases today, while warning people in the state to be extra cautious.

He did not have further details on the cases as he had just gotten off the phone with the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), and the full report will be revealed by the committee later afternoon, he said.

“Today we have eight new cases. So you better take care and wear your masks properly.

“Six are close contact or family members of an existing case, and two are local cases we are still investigating. We don’t have further details as yet.

“SDMC will issue a statement later (with complete details),” said Uggah who is also the committee’s chairman.

He was speaking to reporters after officiating at the Agriculture Outreach Programme (AgriCOP) in Singai here this afternoon asking to verify a Facebook post by Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian last night (Friday), who revealed that two of the new cases were close contacts of Case 771, who was a cake seller.

They were the wife and daughter of Case 771.

Dr Sim in his post also said the new cases also have visited several commercial and construction sites in Kuching over the last few days.

Another case, Dr Sim revealed, was a close contact of Chinese national woman Case 772, who was her flatmate.

“So looking at the trend, although Sarawak’s cases looked like they are flattening, we have to be very careful. I will be meeting with our (SDMC) team to look at whether we need to do active case detection (ACD) operations in any of the affected areas.

“We have one or two cases where we need to do a very extensive contact tracing programme. The whole idea is contact tracing, then isolate.

“So I advise the public to please remain vigilant and follow the standard operating procedures because that is how Sarawak managed to be where we are today.

“The Health Department and SDMC are in full swing. We are monitoring everything closely,” said Uggah.

On a related note, Uggah rebutted a social media post which went viral yesterday, claiming that there have been a surge of cases from Lundu, Sematan and Telok Melano, advising people to stay away from these places.

He said SDMC never issued such a notice.

“I appeal to the public not to spread rumors and fake news because that can alarm the people and cause a lot of problems.

“Please be disciplined, wait for the SDMC official announcement,” he said.

Latest news : “With mandate expiring in April, Sarawak CM says election will depend on Health Ministry advice”

Too many people have their opinions on this Subject and it has spiraled out of hand.

CM Sarawak has put it to rest by telling the people, netcitizens, analysts, bloggers and the opposition that The Lives and Livelihood of the People Matters especially in combating the pandemic #COVID19

BE REST ASSURED THAT THE GPS SARAWAK GOVERNMENT CARES FOR THE HEALTH OF ALL SARAWAKIANS.

{Below extracted from an online portal with thanks}

KUCHING, Oct 23 — Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Abang Johari Openg today said his government will take advice from the Health Ministry in deciding a suitable time to hold the state election next year.

He said that the mandate for the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is until next April, but added that it can be extended by another 120 days from the date of the automatic dissolution of the state assembly.

“This is a very difficult and complex situation, but we have to consider everything before making a decision,” he told reporters when announcing Covid-19 relief measures under the Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang.

Abang Johari said the ruling GPS is not power crazy and is concerned that the Covid-19 situation is managed properly alongside the state economy.

“On the other hand, we cannot govern and take measures if we don’t have the mandate,” he added.

He pointed out that governments elsewhere like Singapore, New Zealand and South Korea have held elections during the pandemic, but reiterated his concern for public health and safety.

“Now, Myanmar is holding their general election. But in the case of the USA presidential election, I don’t want to comment because President Donald Trump has said Covid-19 is not that important.

“But for us in Sarawak, we cannot predict when Covid-19 will be over,” he said, adding that he does not want Sarawak to face the same situation as Sabah did.

Sabah had its state election last month that subsequently led to a spike in Covid-19 cases and fatalities nationwide. 

Hospitals in the state have reached 99.5 per cent capacity and the Sabah government is being forced to decide which patients are high-risk and should be admitted and who are low-risk and can be treated at home.

Yesterday, it registered 578 new cases and four new deaths. Kota Kinabalu, where the Kepayan prison cluster is located, accounted for a majority of that, with 233 cases.

The north Borneo state continues to hold the highest incidents of daily infections and clusters, with more areas placed under partial lockdown in attempts to curb the contagion.