Sep. 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has questioned the idea of his party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), to move up the elections to the end of the month, because they would take place in the middle of the monsoon season.
Khairy explained that it is very risky to hold elections during the rainy season, not only because of the floods that usually occur, but also because of the increase in water-borne diseases, so they should be held before or after, he says. the Malaysian newspaper ‘The Edge’.
On September 17, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob yielded to increasingly pressing pressure from part of his party and announced his intention to hold elections, initially scheduled for September 2023. The decision final, he added, would be known on September 30 after a meeting of the UMNO.
“The opinion of the Ministry of Health is that it is not conducive to hold an election during the flood season,” Khairy said. The rainy season in Northwest Malaysia is generally from November to March.
On the logistical level, Khairy explained that “a lot of manpower would be needed” to efficiently organize an election, as well as if you want to manage in the best way the disasters that rainfall usually brings with it at that time of year.
“Many hands would also be needed in the monsoon season to manage the temporary evacuation centers and to take care of people’s safety”, pointed out the minister, who pointed out that although the date is being agreed upon by the entire Government, the last word has the prime minister.
Khairy’s reluctance is part of that already expressed by the opposition and other UMNO leaders, who take into account the dozens of deaths and the thousands of displaced people that occurred last year due to floods that left damage valued at more than 6,000 million ringgit (more than 1,300 million euros).
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