Emergency Proclamation Worry - When talks about snap polls? PRU15?

Many are talking about snap polls...PRU15 soon, etc and I am worried, because using the Covid-19 situation, and the fact that there have been 3 Proclamation of Emergency affecting 3 constituencies to allegedly delay the by-elections.. one must worry that the Prime Minister and current government may cause to be issued a new PROCLAMATION OF EMERGENCY affecting the entire nation, and Covid-19 will be the excuse...

Let us look at the Proclamation of Emergency for the Parliamentary Constituency of Batu Sapi, and we a perusal of the words of the actual proclamation raises concerns as there is no mention that the Proclamation is to postpone the by-elections to some other day when it is safer. There is also no mention of any end date.

BY HIS MAJESTY THE YANG DI-PERTUAN AGONG, BY THE GRACE OF ALLAH, SUPREME HEAD OF THE STATES AND TERRITORIES OF MALAYSIATUANKU AL-SULTAN ABDULLAH RI'AYATUDDIN AL-MUSTAFA BILLAH SHAH IBNI
ALMARHUM SULTAN HAJI AHMAD SHAH AL-MUSTA'IN BILLAH,Yang di-Pertuan Agong

WHEREAS WE are satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security, economic life and public order of a part of the Federation namely the Parliamentary Constituency of P.185 Batu Sapi, Sabah are threatened arising from the epidemic of an infectious disease namely Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19):

AND WHEREAS Clause (1) of Article 150 of the Federal Constitution provides that in the said circumstances WE may issue a Proclamation of Emergency:

NOW, THEREFORE, WE, AL-SULTAN ABDULLAH RI’AYATUDDIN AL-MUSTAFA BILLAH SHAH IBNI ALMARHUM SULTAN HAJI AHMAD SHAH AL-MUSTA’IN BILLAH, by the Grace of Allah, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of the States and territories of Malaysia, in exercise of the powers conferred on US as aforesaid PROCLAIM that a grave emergency exists and that this Proclamation shall extend throughout the Parliamentary Constituency of P.185 Batu Sapi, Sabah:

ISSUED at Our Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur, the Federal Capital, this eighteenth day of November, two thousand twenty.

By His Majesty's Command

                                                TAN SRI DATO' HJ. MAHIADDIN BIN MD. YASIN
                                                Prime Minister

 

The problem is after an Emergency is declared, when will it end. Our Malaysian experience is that it will take many many years after even long after the reason for the emergency is no more..

 

Local Council Elections also was 'suspended' because of 'confrontation' - and still, decades later, we do not enjoy the democratic right to vote in our peoples' representative in the Local Council (Local Government) - that power has been wrongly taken over by the State/Federal government. 

Hence, is it a 'strategy' of PM Muhyiddin? BERSATU(who really do not have as many seats as its other coalition partners - BN and/or PAS to remain in power for an indefinite period?

If and when the sitting Prime Minister loses the confidence of the majority of the MPs, then he sees the King and resigns...paving the way for a new Prime Minister, someone who enjoys the confidence of the majority...

Wait, the PM can also ask the King to dissolve Parliament paving the way for a General Elections - PRU15.

 

The King decides - new Prime Minister or PRU15? What will it be...

Or, because of Covid-19, to prevent PRU15 now, then a a Proclamation of Emergency? If there be a Proclamation of Emergency, the Muhyiddin may be the 'interim' PM until Emergency is lifted - and PRU15 is called....when will that be? Well, it is anyone's guess.

 

UMNO(BN) and PAS may be OK to a multi-party government - but not to merge into one new party? - many knew that from the begining.

The attempt to form a new coalition called Perikatan Nasional(PN), which would mean the end of BN and/or PAS > but then BN and PAS are not too keen about such a move ...more so when a minority party like BERSATU may have to be given the leadership..

 

All in all, the Perikatan Nasional is maybe a 'temporary' name to describe the current government formed by a coalition of different political parties... No party, where every party has their own ideology and principles...which attracts their own members/support, would want to abandon this differences and lose their identity...

 

When BN formed - individual member parties lost out

 

They certainly do not want to end up like the Barisan Nasional - which at the end of the day is really an UMNO led and dominated coalition. The different member parties of BN, like even Gerakan and others, have simply lost their own ideology, stances, principles, etc. Gerakan, for a while, tried to maintain its own identity coming out with public position/stances that were different from the BN position/stances - but that is quite some time ago...

 

Other than UMNO, many BN party has lost out after they joined that coalition... they have lost their voice... UMNO managed to dominate it terms of agenda and directions ...the other 'minor' parties choose the right to be 'in power' - meaning the possibility of maybe holding some Ministerial position, or enjoying other benefits like monies allocated to BN MPs but not the Opposition. 

 

Should elections (and/or by-elections) be delayed because of Covid-19?

NO - it should not. The Minister of Health has the power to create specific regulations for such elections...

 

Remember, Covid-19 has not stopped elections in many different countries - and it all went on smoothly...so, Malaysia's actions may not be justified. There could be new steps taken to keep voters safe from getting infected when they go to vote ...

But, then EC could set up possibilities for registered voters to vote where they are - without having to move between States/Districts to arrive back to the constituency to cast their ballot.

POSTAL votes can be extended to all that are not currently living within the constituency, can it not > and to enable the ballot paper to be posted to the voter, and posted back to be counted - the 'campaign period' should be extended to maybe at least 30 days.

Voting could happen over several days - this could limit the number of voters at any one polling station - there are so many possibilities... But then PM Muhyiddin and PN wanted to simply delay elections ...by emergency proclamations.

Pity the constituents affected by the Proclamation of Emergencies - they do not have a elected representative in Parliament/State Legislative Assembly?

 

 

 

 

 

EC conforms with Gerik, Bugaya emergency declaration, by-elections on hold

Wednesday, 16 Dec 2020 06:54 PM MYT

Election Commission chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh speaks during a press conference in Putrajaya October 13, 2020. ― Picture by Choo Choy May

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 16 — The Election Commission (EC) conforms with the declaration of Emergency Proclamation for the Gerik parliamentary constituency, Perak and the Bugaya state constituency in Sabah, in effect cancelling the by-elections for both seats, said its chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh.

The Declaration of Emergency Proclamation based on Clause (1) of Article 150 of the Federal Constitution allows an ordinance to be proclaimed under Clause (2B) of Article 150 to revoke the date set for the by-elections for Gerik parliamentary seat and Bugaya state seat, after it received consent from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al -Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, he said.

“Following this declaration, any proceedings that have begun for the purpose of holding the by-election for P.054 Gerik, Perak and N.66 Bugaya, Sabah, will not be continued and another date will be set for the by-elections,” said Abdul Ghani in a statement today.

The EC had previously set the two by-elections to be held simultaneously on January 16 following the deaths of the incumbents of the two constituencies. The nomination date of the candidate is set on January 4 while January 12 as the early voting date.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in a statement today, said that His Majesty had consented to declare a state of emergency for the two by-elections after studying the explanation presented by him that there is a need to declare a Proclamation of Emergency based on Clause (1) Article 150 of the Federal Constitution.

Muhyiddin said that the Cabinet on December 4 had discussed in detail the impact of the Gerik and Bugaya by-elections, if held at the time the Covid-19 pandemic was still spreading in the country.

The Gerik by-election is necessitated following the death of Datuk Hasbullah Osman on November 16 due to heart disease, while the Bugaya by-election follows the death of Manis Muka Mohd Darah on November 17 due to complications of kidney disease.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong on November 18 declared a Proclamation of Emergency for P.185 Batu Sapi, Sabah, thus canceling the by-election as a proactive measure to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Batu Sapi by-election was necessitated following the death of incumbent Datuk Liew Vui Keong on October 2 due to a lung infection, and the EC had previously set the nomination day for the Batu Sapi by-election on November 23, polling day on December 5 and early voting on December 1.

In Perak, new Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad said that the declaration of Emergency Proclamation for the Gerik parliamentary seat by-election will definitely help curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic even though the area is located in the Pengkalan Hulu district which is a green zone.

Saarani, who is also the Kota Tampan assemblyman (ADUN) said that if the Gerik by-election is held, it will cause the influx of people from outside the district and the situation could increase risk.

“Gerik area is a green zone but we need to take into account what happened in Sabah when there was free movement during the election.

“If there is no contest, then it will be okay, but if there is a contest then it will involve movement,” he said when met by reporters after presenting the Perak Budget 2021 at the Perak Darul Ridzuan Building here today.

Meanwhile, Perak DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming said the state Pakatan Harapan welcomed the Emergency Proclamation, without commenting further. — Bernama - Malay Mail, 16/12/2020