Jeffery should walk his talk, table government motion - PH ADUNs
31 Aug 2021
Following the response from the Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, we urge him to table a government motion to enact a bill to allow the state government to have more authorities in order to further address the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We must create the enactment to support it so that we have the necessary power," said Jeffrey in his response to our motion that was submitted to the State Assembly.
We would commend Jeffrey if he succeeds to bring the motion and get it gazetted in the state assembly if he is really sincere as he is the ruling party member.
We have submitted a special motion under the Standing Order 31(2) for the State Assembly to enact a new law on prevention and control of diseases thereafter to pave way for the state government to be empowered in making key decisions to support our healthcare system amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
If the Deputy Chief Minister is sincere in this matter, he should table a government motion. This is because, in the Westminster parliamentary system, the government bills and motions would always be tabled first in the August House.
In our opinion, in empowering the state government, we would have a bigger say in public health matters such as vaccination. This is also in line with the spirit behind MA63 as equal partners in the federation of Malaysia. This is also to stop relying on the federal government and act swiftly as numbers are skyrocketing in Sabah on a daily basis.
We will only face a bigger health and economic crisis if we continue to sit and wait. Sabah's healthcare system is collapsing while facing a shortage of infrastructure and human resources.
The state government must look into this and enact a bill that empowers the state government to allocate resources and also establish a health ministry to manage public health affairs.
As we all acknowledge, Sabah is facing a high surge of positive cases with 27% transmission rate. This is one of the biggest crisis post-independence and we must tackle this together.
We hope that Jeffrey as the Deputy Chief Minister acts accordingly and not only responds in statements. We know Jeffrey has been vocal in championing Sabah's autonomy and this is his time to prove it. If he fails to act on this, it is disappointing to all Sabahans. We would like to reiterate that the government must be proactive and table this as a government motion and together we achieve this bipartisan bill for the people of Sabah.
EWON BENEDICK
KADAMAIAN STATE ASSEMBLYMAN
UPKO Vice President Malaysia
PHOONG JIN ZHE
LUYANG STATE ASSEMBLYMAN
Pakatan Harapan Sabah Youth Chief
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