Not everybody agrees to Sarawak election being called under current situation

KUCHING: Many Sarawakians are not comfortable with the idea of the next state election to be called soon, with the Covid-19 pandemic still posing a serious threat to the community.

Catohrinner Joyce Guri does not agree with this at all, adding that the polls should be put off at least until the Covid-19 situation has been brought fully under control.

“I don’t think state election should be held soon, in view of the current Covid-19 situation.

“Perhaps sometime next year would be preferable once the number of new cases in Malaysia shows significant decline, or when there is a vaccine available,” the 31-year-old private sector worker told thesundaypost.

Vanessa Senaya Changgai, 31, a government servant, said the Sarawak should encourage other voting methods such as mail-in or online balloting, which should be possible with the present advancement in technology.

“This would reduce the risk of being exposed to Covid-19.

“To ensure smooth mail-in balloting procedures, the state government should provide a budget for this system. I believe that the young people, the working adults and those residing in city areas would definitely go for e-voting,” she said.

The last Sarawak state election was held in 2016.

For the record, the current mandate for the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN Sarawak) is set to expire in June next year.

In view of the snap state election in Sabah just recently, many quarters have speculated that Sarawak would follow suit.

In this respect, Juliana Ebat said for the time being, she saw no urgency in dissolving DUN Sarawak and making arrangements for a snap election.

“There’s no need to hold the state election for now – better to wait until the current situation gets better,” said the 37-year-old, who also works in the private sector here.

In her opinion, Rebekah Talang said the election ‘should wait, at least until next year’.

“If it were to be called soon, amidst the current pandemic, more likely the voter’s turnout would be low. I believe that many people are still fearful about going out to vote under the current situation, and (for the outstation voters) they might not want to return to their home constituencies to cast their votes,” said the 62-year-old pensioner.