THE Election Commission (EC) cannot discriminate against those who have not been fully vaccinated by preventing them from voting in the Malacca state elections, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council said today.

“We are of the view that this is in breach of Article 119 of the Federal Constitution, which is in relation to the right to vote,” it said in a statement.

“While we fully support the administering of the vaccines to all, this cannot be used as an excuse to discriminate against those who have not completed two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and could also be against the law.”

Earlier today, the EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh announced that Malacca will go to the polls on November 20, with nominations set for November 8.

Ghani said Covid-19 prevention guidelines for the state election will be based on the standard operating procedure (SOP) provided by the National Security Council, Health Ministry, and the police.

He reportedly said only voters who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to cast their ballots.

The 28-seat state assembly was dissolved on October 4 after four assemblymen withdrew support for Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali, causing him to lose majority support.

The four were Sg Udang assemblyman and former chief minister Idris Haron, Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu), Noor Effandi Ahmad (Teluk Mas) and Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor).

The presidential council said that it will also be filing an injunction against the dissolution of the state assembly on Wednesday, October 20 to put a stop to the snap polls.

The injunction, along with a certificate of urgency, will be filed by Malacca PH chief Adly Zahari.

“We are of the view that the state assembly was dissolved under wrong guidance. The governor should have followed in the footsteps of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by calling in the political blocs to meet with him to determine who has majority support.

“Having said that, we will prepare for all eventualities, including facing the election.”

PH said that it stands by its decision that Sulaiman should not be named as the caretaker chief minister as he has lost majority support.

It added that this is not the right time to have an election as it might lead to a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections.

“We are worried if the elections are held, the SOP put in place might not be fair and will favour select parties.” – October 18, 2021.