Sabah election date: Announce now, Bersih says

SHAH ALAM – Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has been urged to announce the official date for the dissolution of the Sabah state legislative assembly earlier.

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) said an early announcement would allow all parties, particularly Sabah voters working or studying outside the state, to prepare and plan their return journeys to exercise their voting rights.

Bersih pointed out that announcing the dissolution date in advance would give the Election Commission (EC), police and other relevant authorities sufficient time to make the necessary logistical and security arrangements to ensure a smooth electoral process.

It also stated that potential election candidates would have had enough time to prepare for a fair and just campaign.

In the 15th Sabah state election, the voter turnout was only around 66 per cent.

Bersih’s report on the 15th General Election (GE15) monitoring revealed that only 20 out of 925 Sabah students at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) were able to return to vote.

The Sabah PKR State Leadership Council Chairman and Higher Education Deputy Minister Mustapha Sakmud said that there were 200,000 Sabahans working and studying in Peninsular Malaysia.

"This is not a small number, and the state government had to consider the needs of Sabah voters outside the state to ensure they could fulfil their democratic duty," he said.

On Tuesday, Sinar reported that the Sabah state assembly, scheduled to sit for six days in April, could have potentially been the last session before its dissolution in preparation for the 17th Sabah state election.

Earlier, several political parties were reported to be preparing for the election, even though the official dissolution date had yet to be confirmed.

In November last year, Hajiji suggested that the Sabah state election was expected to take place before October this year.

Bersih also commented that the lack of a clear election date had made it difficult for voters outside the state to plan their trips, particularly those who needed to book flights in advance to avoid excessively high fares.

The statement added that airfare prices could have reached thousands of ringgit, making it difficult for Sabah voters outside the state to return home due to high travel costs and leave constraints for work or studies.

“Therefore, proactive steps must be taken to ensure a higher voter turnout and uphold the political rights of Sabahans living outside the state.

"Voting is a fundamental right of every citizen and any barriers to voting access had to be minimised," it said.

Bersih also called on civil society and political parties to work together to push for a more transparent and inclusive Sabah state election, ensuring better access for all voters without discrimination, the statement added.