KUCHING, May 3: Certain leaders or “very important persons” (VIPs) should not be exempted from following Sarawak’s Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) as they could easily contract the virus and spread infections to the community through their mobility.
This view was expressed by Michael Kong, the special assistant to Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen, who in a statement highlighted Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s previous visit to Sarawak with an entourage of people who were all not quarantined.
For this purpose, he said many VIPs related to Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) were also known to be travelling in and out of Sarawak while being exempted from the 14-day quarantine order.
With this, he asserted that they have put Sarawakians’ health, safety and economy at risk.
Despite the declaration of a state of emergency in Malaysia on Jan 12, he noted a consistent increase in the number of Covid-19 cases daily in Sarawak and for more than two months, Sarawak has been in the top three states with the highest daily toll.
“Therefore, the numbers show us that the emergency which was imposed on us all purportedly for the purposes of curbing Covid-19 has been counterproductive.
“With the ever-high number of Covid-19 cases each day, social media is now widely circulating news of a possible MCO (Movement Control Order) 3.0 in the event that the situation does not get better.
“These sorts of news only cause anxiety because we have been in a difficult economic climate for over a year and any further total lockdown will only cause more hardship to all Malaysians,” he said in his statement today.
Thus, Kong called upon the authorities especially the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to set clear SOPs and enforce them without double standards even for those who have been vaccinated.
At the same time, he urged the general public not to panic over the rumours of MCO 3.0 and to stay updated only with official news from the relevant authorities.
“We all have a part to play in combating Covid-19 including the dissemination of actual news,” he added. — DayakDaily
