By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, Dec 21: Minister for Local Government and Housing Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian has chided Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong for her ignorance on the various standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
Dr Sim clarified that his trip to Kuala Lumpur last week was to meet up with the political leaders of Perikatan Nasional (PN) Plus whereby it was classified as an essential service under the guidelines set by SDMC.
Thus, he explained that he was not required to undergo the mandatory quarantine upon his return to Kuching.
Nonetheless, Dr Sim said Yong has chosen to play political drama in the public’s eye by alleging he had flouted the SOPs in particular not undergoing quarantine for travelling out of Sarawak last week whereby he attended a dinner on Dec 17 as a leader of PN Plus political parties.
“I had applied (to) SDMC and uploaded the necessary attachments including my PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test for the trip to Kuala Lumpur.
“My stay in Kuala Lumpur (was) strictly for the meeting and nowhere else with less than 15 hours in Kuala Lumpur for the whole trip.
“The safety of fellow Sarawakians is most important to me.
“Members of Parliament (who) attend Parliament (sitting) and Sarawak government officers attending important meetings like the Petronas (signing of commercial settlement agreement) the other day are under essential services category with the criteria as in the SDMC infographic,” Dr Sim said in a statement today.
Dr Sim added that he was disappointed with Yong for not being aware of the various SOPs including those categorised under essential service approved by SDMC.
Earlier, Yong posted on her Facebook page saying that Dr Sim did not undergo quarantine upon his return to Sarawak after meeting with the leaders of PN Plus in Kuala Lumpur last week.
She claimed that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government and SDMC has been practicing double standards.
Yong noted that GPS leaders were allowed to return to Sarawak without undergoing quarantine but opposition leaders such as Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen was requested to undergo quarantine upon his return to Kuching last Saturday (Dec 19). — DayakDaily
