THOSE from Peninsular Malaysia who intend to canvas votes for their parties in the upcoming Sarawak state election should be treated as volunteers and not workers, said Abun Sui Anyit.

The PKR Sarawak information chief said this after Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said election workers from outside the state are required to secure a valid working permit in order to “work” for the various political parties in the next state election.

Uggah was referring to a law under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) that requires non-Sarawakians to have a valid work permit if they intend to work in the state.

The PKR Hulu Rajang branch chairman also questioned why the sudden need to have the permit now when for 57 years, no work permit was ever imposed on any party workers or volunteers at any elections before.

Abun told The Malaysian Insight that the new ruling is a reflection of Gabungan Parti Sarawak’s (GPS) fear of losing power.

The lawyer said he intends to put the “unworkable” ruling to the test.

He said he will advise PKR volunteers who intend to help out and canvass for votes in the coming Sarawak election to continue making their travel arrangements.

Nonetheless, he said they must comply with all the health and Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) that are in place in the state.

Uggah last Sunday said election workers “are here to work” and so it’s a must for those from Sabah or Peninsular Malaysia to apply for a permit.

Last night another deputy chief minister, James Masing, had warned the state could put in place “very stringent measures” to curb “outsiders” from coming into the state during the election to stop the spread of Covid-19.

He told his party members at their 16th anniversary gathering in Kuching that Sarawak must avoid repeating the “disasters” of the Sabah state election which triggered a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases in the state.

Politicians and party workers from the peninsula are also reportedly bringing the infection back home. – October 22, 2020.