No sign of early polls – EC
KOTA KINABALU: The Election Commission (EC) said there is no indication that Sabah is going to hold a snap election this year, said its chairman, Datuk Seri Hashim Abdullah.
However, he said the EC is ready to face any elections after rumours of an early election for Sabah following the recent visits of the Prime Minister and Deputy Minister and the leave freeze for the Information Department staff.
“Tiada bayangan (There is no indication). There is not even sighting of the ‘anak bulan’ (New Moon),” he told reporters after handing over appreciation certificates to Tanjung Datu byelection workers at the Lundu Community Hall in Sarawak yesterday.
Mohd Hashim said since the EC is tasked at handling the elections, it is always ready to hold a general election.
“Don’t worry. We make preparations in terms of logistics and such, all the time. We have made all preparations. Recently, we were able to immediately swing into action when an elected representative died. For our staff too, this is not the first time they will be handling a general election,” he said.
“We have no problem if there is an early general election or whatever. God willing, we will conduct it as best as possible.
“In Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu, Kelantan, peninsulawide ... we conduct training all the time. We don’t wait for the general election to conduct training,” he said.
Mohd Hashim was asked to comment on a social media viral message that the Information Department issued an internal circular freezing leave for personnel and personal trips abroad, which triggered speculation on the possibility of an early general election.
He said the issue of freezing leave was up to the respective departments.
A circular signed by the Information Department directorgeneral Datuk Ibrahim Abd Rahman which went viral on social media, sparked off fresh talks that elections will be held soon.
However, Ibrahim explained that the circular was sent to remind officers wishing to go abroad for private holidays or personal matters to make their applications in advance.
The freeze, he said, would not affect those who had been offered to perform the haj or umrah, whereas those who needed to go overseas for (important or emergency) reasons, (their applications) could still be considered based on merit, for instance, the death of family members.
“This is to avoid staff (being absent) when the department needs them to focus on the department’s activities and official government programmes,” he said, adding that the Information Department was involved in various national activities, including the National Day, the SEA Games, the King’s coronation, advocacy activities, public engagement and government policy marketing.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Datuk Dr Zahid Hamidi’s back to back visits to Sabah last weekend have also fueled speculation of an early election for the state.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman, however, said the visits of the two leaders were routine ones.
Speculation was rife that Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman is planning for early state elections instead of holding it simultaneously with the 14th General Election, which must be held next year at the latest as the Sabah Barisan Nasional was confident of winning more seats if it was not bogged down by national issues that allowed the Federal Opposition to make inroads in the last general election in 2013.
Some political circles are claiming that elections could be held as early as April if Barisan does not plan to use the 13 new seats which were carved out last year and expected to be tabled by Parliament in March.
Sabah currently has 60 state seats.