Emergency order should remain until Covid-19 situation stabilises, says Sabah's Star

 By Olivia Miwil - June 15, 2021 @ 6:16pm

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) has called for the Emergency order to remain in place until the Covid-19 situation in the country stabilises.

Its president, Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who is also deputy chief minister, said he conveyed the party's stance during his audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

"I informed the King that the Emergency status should be maintained for the time being until the situation stabilises. The other problems, including security and politics, will be resolved on their own.

"I also emphasised on the lessons we can all learn from the Sabah snap elections last September, which triggered the third wave of the pandemic in Malaysia.

"Even after almost nine months, this third wave has yet to show any signs of abating," he said in a statement.

On Jan 12, Istana Negara had assented to the government's request for an Emergency order to be put in place until Aug 1 or earlier should Covid-19 cases come under control.

Several political parties had argued that the order carried little significance as the pandemic worsened.

Jeffrey said the current pandemic situation in Malaysia should not be viewed in isolation but instead in comparison to the rest of the world.

He also noted that Malaysia is not the only country to have declared a state of emergency to deal with the crisis as more than 70 other countries have taken similar steps to combat Covid-19.

At the same time, he also said the vaccination programme in Sabah is "extremely slow" and one of the reasons was the region's poor infrastructure, especially its inferior telecommunication system.

"There is an urgent need to step up the vaccination awareness programme, and the Sabah government is doing all it can to assist the people both socially and economically."

Earlier, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor had said that the daily vaccination rate would be increased to 30,000 from the current rate of 13,000 with more vaccine supplies arriving into the state.

More vaccination centres, including private premises, would be used to complement the programme.

As for the interior areas, the mobile outreach programme will also involve the Sabah Four Wheel Drive Association members and the army to help the nation achieve the targeted 80 per cent herd immunity.