By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, Dec 9: Minister for Local Government and Housing Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian has called on local councils to be on high alert for any potential rise in Covid-19 cases in Sarawak.
He believed that it is yet the time to relax now as the fight for Covid-19 in Sarawak is not over.
“December is critical for us because we have holidays, Christmas and everybody are looking at the figure as zero and one.
“Everybody thinks that Sarawak is safe and wants to come back from the red zone.
“Some people might also want to travel to a red zone so they go to Kuala Lumpur.
“For all the local councils, we really need to be on high alert more than ever,” he said in his speech prior to the Excellence Service Award 2019 presentation at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly here today.
Citing an example of the Covid-19 situation in Canada whereby the country has witnessed 100,000 new cases of Covid-19 in the past fortnight, he reminded local authorities and the people to remain vigilant.
He observed that Malaysia has to-date registered more than 75,000 cases of Covid-19 nationwide with Sabah contributing 50 per cent of the deaths in Malaysia in the past two months.
Dr Sim noted that almost half of the cases were recorded in the past one month but the people were not worried about the rising number of cases.
On another note, Dr Sim said the staff of the Ministry for Local Government and Housing were frontliners in discharging their duties during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
He observed that his ministry’s staff were at the forefront of preparing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) while enforcing them during the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure Sarawak remains safe.
“You held your ground since the beginning of MCO as frontliners.
“The Ministry and its agencies remain steadfast in discharging their duties and responsibilities since the announcement of MCO nine months ago.
“While some ministries and departments were closed or work from home, our ministry was at the forefront preparing SOP while at the same time enforcing them with other uniformed agencies to ensure Sarawak remains safe,” he added.
Apart from that, he reminded civil servants not to be complacent in their work and continue to perform their best for a better Sarawak.
Among those present at the Excellence Service Award 2019 presentation was Assistant Minister for Local Government and Housing Datu Dr Penguang Manggil, Ministry for Local Government and Housing’s permanent secretary Datu Antonio Kahti Galis, Kuching South City Council mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng and Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang. —DayakDaily
