KUCHING, April 13: Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, Michael Tiang, has warned unscrupulous individuals against posting Covid-19 related fake news that generates hate and misunderstanding against Sarawak ministers.
He said such malicious attacks on the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government will hamper the state’s effort in the fight against Covid-19.
Tiang lodged a police report on Sunday after coming across an online posting of a Chinese Facebook page on April 11.
“The article state that during the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, GPS is still playing politics. The article said RM800,000 Covid-19 funding for constituencies under the opposition — Padungan, Pending, Batu Lintang and Kota Sentosa — was controlled by Minister of Local Government, Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
“The article stated that was the reason why the opposition from these constituencies did not receive any food aid and DAP YBs (elected representatives) have to use their own money to buy supplies, while volunteers took the risks of being infected to distribute the supplies to the people in those areas.
“The Facebook posting accused Dr Sim of playing politics,” he said in a statement.
He said after the article was published, on the same day, another Facebook user shared and referred to the above “malicious” posting, accusing politicians being unethical and abusing their powers for their personal gains with little regards for the laws and the people’s livelihood.
“The government has clarified umpteenth times that funding for food supplies are channelled to local Disaster Management Committee, which would distribute to the residents and district officers in the respective areas,” he explained.
None of the state assemblymen, Tiang added, be it GPS or the opposition, would receive any funding for such food assistance.
“This is the time for Sarawak to be united to fight Covid-19 and to save lives. Sarawak government has taken steps to provide various relief packages for the needy people, as well as SMEs (small and medium enterprises). This is not the time to tarnish ministers’ reputation to gain some brownie points.
“To gain victory over Covid-19, we need to stand in solidarity in Sarawak to avoid the terrifying consequences experienced by Italy, Spain and the United States,” he said.
Tiang urged those who spread such fake and malicious postings to stop immediately and instead, concentrate their energy to do something constructive to support the frontliners who are risking their lives daily to fight this outbreak. — DayakDaily
