Covid-19 fears: Sarawak not the same as Sabah, Dr Sim reassures Sarawakians

Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian

By Ling Hui

KUCHING, Oct 5: Sarawak is not part of the Covid-19 ‘tsunami wave’ which has hit the rest of Malaysia, says State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) advisor Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian.

With one new local transmission case in Sibu, Sarawak among the 293 cases reported nationwide yesterday (Oct 4), he urged Sarawakians not to panic and to believe in the measures taken by the state government.

“Panic doesn’t help. We just need to learn the lesson, close the border and tighten the entry policy into Sarawak even for Sarawakians.

“The best is not to travel outside Sarawak,” he asserted via a Facebook post yesterday.

Dr Sim noted some Sarawakians had just returned from Sabah without taking precautionary screening tests and there are now statements being released urging the state government not to hold the 12th State Election (PRN12) for the next six months.

In response to this, he pointed out that Singapore and South Korea held their elections without any spike in Covid-19 cases.

“New Zealand is having its election now. Sarawak is not the same as Sabah and we will be similar to Singapore and South Korea,” he reiterated.

With that, he strongly urged the Sarawak Health Department to perform aggressive contact tracing, screening tests, quarantines and treatment to stay ahead of the coronavirus.

He also reminded all Sarawakians to avoid any unnecessary and non-essential traveling to any outbreak zones outside Sarawak. — DayakDaily