KUALA LUMPUR (May 11): Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the state of emergency implemented in the country has helped prevent a further spike in Covid-19 cases.
At a joint press conference with Senior Minister for Security Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Dr Noor Hisham was asked if the emergency has failed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
This was not so, he said, noting that the emergency had allowed the postponement of elections in the country, which could potentially worsen the outbreak.
"The emergency proclamation has helped in terms of prevention (but) we may not be able to assess the (extent) of that prevention. One of the most important things was that we used the Emergency Ordinance to postpone by-elections, for example in Batu Sapi, Bugaya, and Grik, as well as the Sarawak state elections," he said.
Dr Noor Hisham pointed out that without the emergency, the law requires an election to be held within 60 days after a seat is vacated.
He also cited the example of India, where elections were held in five states in March and early April, which led to a surge in Covid-19 cases that overwhelmed the country and its healthcare system.
Ismail Sabri, meanwhile, admitted that the Sabah state election in September 2020 had contributed to the spike in Covid-19 cases in the country at that time, which led to the imposition of the second movement control order (MCO) in January.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had on Jan 12 consented to declaring a state of emergency in Malaysia until Aug 1 to control the spread of Covid-19, after an audience with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin a day earlier.
The King said an earlier end to the emergency may be declared if the number of daily Covid-19 cases can be brought under control and lowered effectively.