JULY 28 — 1. With the current pandemic situation in Sarawak where cases, hospitalisation and deaths are still high, I am in full agreement with both the State and Federal governments that the Sarawak state election should only be held when we have reached herd immunity.

2. Many lawyers and law makers have suggested that the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN Sarawak) will expire automatically after August 1 when the state of Emergency created by the Proclamation of Emergency as per Article 150(1) of the Federal Constitution expires on August 1. They based their suggestion on the premise that DUN Sarawak expired on June 6, 2021, and further suggested that the Sarawak state election would have to be held within sixty days after August 2. I beg to differ.

3. The PM announced on January 12, 2021 that DYMM SPBYD Agong had consented to the issuance of a Proclamation of Emergency effective retrospectively a day earlier on January 11, 2021 until August 1 — a period of roughly seven months.

4. In the PM’s speech which announced the Emergency, paragraphs No. 21 and No. 22 specifically prorogued Parliament and all DUNs, and under a state of Emergency, the clocks in Parliament and DUN Sarawak were effectively stopped. ‘Stopping the clock’ is a convention which is practised by parliaments and legislative assemblies that follow the Westminster system of government.

Ali Biju is seen during the National Congress: Unite For Malaysia event at Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre (MITEC) in Kuala Lumpur, August 22, 2020. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

5. By virtue of the clocks being stopped in both Parliament and DUN Sarawak as of January 11, 2021 till midnight on August 1, would it not follow that the clock in DUN Sarawak would only begin ticking again after midnight on August 2? In other words, it would not make legal sense to count the months from January 11 till August 1 (just under seven months) as being months that DUN Sarawak was in operation. Therefore, I believe DUN Sarawak would not automatically dissolve on August 2 as we would have to account for the prorogued seven months when the clock was stopped, after August 2.

6. If Emergency had not been proclaimed, DUN Sarawak would have expired on June 6, 2021 (five months after Emergency was proclaimed), with an additional 60-day extension, if applied, bringing DUN Sarawak to an automatic dissolution two months later i.e., August 5, 2021. As the clock was stopped on January 11, and the clock would start ticking again on August 2, it would follow then that DUN Sarawak would have to account for five months after August 2 before it expires, which would be January 2022. If we add the additional 60-day extension, that will bring us to an automatic dissolution of DUN Sarawak sometime in March 2022. In short, we cannot count the months during Emergency, and would have to start counting only after Emergency ends — August 2 onwards plus five months plus 60 days of extension.

7. Nevertheless, we leave this academic legal discourse to the constitutional experts to sort out, and ultimately, the prerogative to announce the date of the Sarawak state election lies with our Chief Minister.

* Ali Biju is the MP for Saratok and ADUN for Krian.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.