Emergency not necessarily implemented nationwide - Prof Dr Mohd Azizuddin

KUALA LUMPUR: The declaration of an emergency order can be made if the country is faced with internal security issues, economic instability or public order.

Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Prof Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said in the current state of the country, a health emergency is more appropriate than because of the political crisis.

"So, if it is said that the current political crisis issue is happening, I think the three things are still not enough.

"So, an emergency should not be declared based on the current political crisis, but if COVID-19, yes, it is an urgent crisis and there is a possibility of an emergency being declared because many countries are currently declaring a state of emergency on the basis of COVID-19," he told Astro AWANI in an interview via Skype, on Friday.

However, Dr Mohd Azizuddin said, declaring an emergency is the last resort in resolving an issue in the country.

Commenting further, he said, emergencies are not necessarily implemented throughout the country, instead they can be done in certain states only.

"In Japan, Italy (also implementing an emergency) and Romania have postponed their elections due to COVID-19. In fact, in the United States, there are 48 out of 50 states that have declared emergency.

"I just think this emergency does not have to involve the whole country but can be declared in certain states, such as Sabah which has a relatively high COVID-19 case. So, it can be declared in Sabah only compared to other states," he said.

At the same time, he acknowledged that the declaration of an emergency would have a significant impact on the country, including affecting the role of the Cabinet.