The person urging to hold GE does not even wear face mask - Khairy Jamaluddin

PUTRAJAYA: Rembau Member of Parliament, Khairy Jamaluddin has stressed that not only the UMNO grassroots but all the people in this country reject the call for the 15th General Election (GE15) to be held in the near future.

According to the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, the actions of some UMNO leaders who wanted GE15 to be held before the end of the first quarter of this year was irresponsible.

He said the current situation of COVID-19 transmission was still not suitable for the general elections to be held.

“As the Minister of Science and looking at the infection data (of COVID-19), I also know that if we hold a general election, this will cause a high risk to public health.

“So, that is why I see not only the grassroots of UMNO, but the people as a whole do not want a general election.

"There are a handful of politicians who still want to hold general elections, I think that is an irresponsible stand," he said.

Commenting further, Khairy said it was not appropriate to make comparisons with several other countries, including New Zealand, which had held elections during the pandemic.

"Their argument is that elections are held in countries like Singapore, New Zealand… I think we cannot make a comparison with those countries.

“Those countries, their scale is not the same as ours, and secondly, compliance with our standard operating procedures (SOP) during the Sabah State Election (PRN) has proven that we, especially politicians, cannot comply with the SOP.

"That is why I think it is not appropriate for us to make comparisons," he added.

In fact, Khairy cynically criticised the individuals who always insisted on holding the general elections but they themselves did not comply with the set SOP.

"The ones who say they want to hold a general election, I always see on Facebook that they do not wear face mask and shook hands when greeting others. So, I think, yes... it’s the ‘banana fritters' thinking," he said.

Earlier, UMNO insisted on GE15 being expedited because the party claimed that the current government is so fragile that it scares investors from coming to this country.

UMNO President Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said so far, more than 30 countries, including the United States, had held general elections when they were facing the spread of COVID-19.