Sandakan folk like Sukasdi are relieved that the Batu Sapi by-election, originally scheduled for Dec 5, has been postponed indefinitely.
They had been uneasy about the by-election fearing that Sabah’s already high Covid 19 infections may get out of hand, as seen following the Sabah state elections on Sept 26.
“We are thankful the by-election has been postponed. That was something we had all been wishing for,” said Sukasdi, who is the former Kampung Bokara village chief.
He said like other villagers in the area, he was grateful to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for consenting to the emergency declaration in the Batu Sapi parliamentary constituency that resulted in the by-election being postponed.
“There will be some local politicians who may be unhappy with the postponement because a by-election would be a windfall for them. But they’re in the minority,” Sukasdi added.
Retired civil servant Thomas Lau said deferment of the by-election had allayed fears among Sandakan folk, at least for now.
“No matter what SOPs are in place, the reality is that there are many densely populated villages within Batu Sapi.
“An election would mean gatherings that could see the virus being transmitted more easily,” said the former Sandakan Municipal Council deputy president.
He said many of his friends who live in Karamunting had voiced their reluctance to come out and cast their votes if the by-election had proceeded.
“They just didn’t want to take risks with their health after seeing the spike in Sabah’s Covid 19 cases after the Sept 26 state elections,” Lau added.
The government said another date would be set for the by-election later when the Covid-19 situation improves.
The Batu Sapi parliamentary seat was declared vacant following the death of its Warisan incumbent, Liew Vui Keong, on Oct 2 due to illness.
BN, PBS, Sabah Pakatan Harapan and Parti Cinta Sabah had previously stated their intention to stay out of the by-election.
However, several other parties, including the PPBM-led Perikatan Nasional (PN), did not make a stand on whether they intended to contest the seat.