Bad weather, Covid-19 discussed in PBB's state election meetings

Watery world in ulu Sarawak as seen here in Baram district during the landas season may affect the coming state elections. - Villager pic

MIRI: The possibility of bad weather, floods and the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the 12th Sarawak state elections which must be called at the latest by June next year have been raised at high-level Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) meetings.

Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau, who is also Baram PBB chief, said that there was not much time left before the polls.

He said PBB, a component party of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition, must be prepared to face any eventuality.

"The fears now are that the bad weather and the Covid-19 pandemic may persist for many more months.

"The landas (monsoon) season in Sarawak is very unpredictable now. We are seeing floods even in August.

"The Covid-19 pandemic may persist for the next two years. In the midst of all these, the state elections must go on.

"We in PBB must brace ourselves to deal with these real threats on the ground.

"We have told our ground teams to be prepared to face any eventuality since we are running out of time before the deadline to hold the state polls," he said on Sunday (Oct 18).

PBB branches are currently holding their meetings throughout Sarawak.

The meetings are part of the party's state-level delegates convention, and election preparations feature as the key agenda this time round.

Apart from PBB, GPS is composed of the Sarawak United Peoples Party, Parti Rakyat Sarawak and the Progressive Democratic Party.

GPS controls 68 of the 82 state constituencies in Sarawak.

There are indications that the state assembly may be dissolved by the middle of next month during the assembly session from Nov 9 to 18.

Ngau said it had been confirmed that the state assembly meeting was on.

However, when asked if the assembly would be dissolved after the state's 2021 budget was tabled and passed in the second week of November, he said there is no confirmation.

"We in PBB have to be fully prepared as and when the state election is called," he said.