There have been a lot of speculations on what caused the third wave, but deep down inside, we know the real cause.

And finally, those responsible have finally owned up to their mistake.

By-election canceled

After a few months of denying and skirting around the issue, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has finally admitted that the third COVID-19 wave that the country is experiencing now was caused by the Sabah state elections.

Muhyiddin admitted that although the Election Commission (EC) had set a tight standard operating procedure for the elections that was held in September, the compliance was weak.

This came after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah agreed to declare a state of emergency in Batu Sapi on Wednesday (18 November), thus effectively cancelling the by-election that was scheduled to be held on 5 December.

According to The Star Online, Muhyiddin said that the Cabinet had discussed the risk of holding a by-election in Batu Sapi in the midst of the pandemic that is ravaging Sabah.

“In making this consideration, the Cabinet took into account the consequences of the COVID-19 transmission in Sabah following the elections in September, ” he was quoted as saying.

The by-election will now be held when the pandemic is over, Muhiyiddin added.

Muhyiddin also revealed that Sabah recorded 808 COVID-19 cases on nomination day on 12 September, before the number ballooned to 1,547 cases on polling day two weeks later.

Sabah became the first state in Malaysia to record more than 10,000 cases on 24 October, as the number of cases in the state reached 11,285.

As of Wednesday, Sabah now has a total of 24,269 cases and 181 deaths.