KUCHING: It would unwise to hold the 15th General Election (GE15) at the end of the year as emergency response personnel would be better deployed to help with the expected flood at different areas in Sarawak.
Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen said there are about 310 locations where floods are bound to occur, as mentioned by the Sarawak government.
“Manpower from the police, army forces and BOMBA should be used and deployed to the areas anticipated to be affected by floods.
“It is simple common sense instead of using the forces for general election,” he said today at a press conference at DAP headquarters here.
Chong claimed that factions within UMNO are pushing for GE15 as party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is desperate to be back in power.
“I know he is desperate so that he can order his case to be withdrawn and do bear in mind that his case can still be withdrawn as he has not been found guilty just yet.
“I believe if he becomes the Prime Minister, the first thing he will do is getting his case to be withdrawn and another will be restructuring the (Attorney-Generals’) chamber,” he added.
He also called on the government to solve the flood problem by improving the irrigation system and the infrastructure.
“They should improve the infrastructure instead of telling the people that evacuation centres have been prepared for them.
“If floods happen and the victims may have evacuated to the centres, they would still be suffering from the properties damage and their crops being destroyed.
“The number of anticipated flood areas have remained the same if not more compare to last year and the year before so I believe that improving the infrastructure is more important,” he added.
