The declaration of a state of emergency in the Batu Sapi parliamentary constituency will be a precedent and model that can be applied to prevent any election if required in the event of a crisis in the future.

According to Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Geo-Politics and Electoral Studies (GeOpeS) researcher Syahruddin Awang Ahmad, only the proclamation of emergency through Article 150 of the Federal Constitution is technically and in principle capable of legally preventing an election from taking place.