Malaysia extends emergency rule in Sarawak state to stop polls

Malaysia extended a state of emergency in the eastern state of Sarawak until February 2022 to suspend regional elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic, reports said on Saturday.

Malaysia is under emergency rule nationally to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but that is set to expire on Sunday.

The emergency in Sarawak, however, will be extended until Feb. 2, reports said, citing the government gazette.

King Al-Sultan Abdullah decreed that the emergency is to suspend the state election in order to prevent any further increase in the spread of COVID-19, reports said.

The Sarawak legislative assembly’s term had ended on June 6. The national emergency prevented an election from being held and allowed the term to be extended.

Malaysia’s COVID-19 infections have spread rapidly in recent weeks. Daily cases hit a record 17,405 this week, and the total number of infections stood at 1,095,486 as of Friday.

Reuters