KUCHING: The lifting of the Emergency in Sarawak to pave the way for the state election is a move to uphold democracy, says the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP).

       Its secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting said this would return the power to the people to elect and form a new state government.

       With Sarawak entering the Covid-19 endemic phase and 90% of its adult population fully vaccinated, he said it would be against democracy for the state election to be further delayed.

       "We feel the time is now to let the people decide on a new government with a fresh mandate to govern the state," he said in a statement on Thursday (Nov 4).

       Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah consented to lift the Emergency in Sarawak on Wednesday (Nov 3), ahead of its scheduled end next February.

       The Sarawak Legislative Assembly was due to dissolve automatically on June 7 following the expiry of its term, but the state election was suspended due to the nationwide Emergency, which ended on Aug 1, and the subsequent Emergency in Sarawak from Aug 2 to Feb 2, 2022.

       With the lifting of the Emergency, Ting noted that the state assembly was finally dissolved and the Election Commission had to decide on holding the polls within 60 days.

       "The spread of Covid-19 during the election campaign and polling day is a serious concern, but we are confident the Election Commission will come up with stringent guidelines on how to conduct the polls safely," he added.