By Karen Bong
KUCHING, June 4: Civil servants and businesspeople who have to travel to Peninsular Malaysia for work purposes are now exempted from having to undergo Covid-19 tests three days before entering Sarawak.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas however said that frequent travellers are required to obtain and submit letters of authorisation from their heads of departments and companies stating their travel itineraries.
“The state government acknowledges that it will be difficult for these two groups of people to meet the entry requirements into Sarawak so we have fine-tuned the conditions for them to enter Sarawak.
“For civil servants, some may need to attend meetings in Kuala Lumpur twice to three times a week so it will be difficult and inconvenient to have to undergo Covid-19 testing so many times in a week.
“This also applies for businesspeople and we will consider their itineraries after submission,” he told a press conference on Covid-19 here today.
He added that the letters of authorisation and travel itineraries must be submitted to SDMC online via http://sdmc.sarawak.gov.my.
Uggah announced yesterday (June 3) that it will be compulsory for all citizens entering Sarawak through air, land and sea including civil servants in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Labuan to take Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in their respective areas or states three days before entering Sarawak.
Meanwhile, all Sarawakians stranded in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Labuan who are unable to give their samples for Covid-19 tests for specific reasons would be allowed to enter Sarawak but will be screened upon arrival.
“The cost to undergo tests will be borne by the Sarawak government,” he said.
As for workers in oil and gas sectors, Uggah explained that the SOP issued previously will be maintained as conditions for their entry into Sarawak.
Meanwhile, he added that the Limbang Resident will discuss with the Sabah government on conditions to enable Sarawakians in Limbang and Lawas to travel back and forth for work in Sabah.
“As Sabah also requires people to undergo screening three days before entering the state, we find that it is not reasonable to have this group meet the requirements as they have to go in and out of Sabah on a daily basis.
“Perhaps, the Sabah government can issue some kind of pass that will allow the workers to go in and out of Sabah for work and be exempted from the screening requirement,” he added. — DayakDaily
