KUCHING, Nov 20: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing has been appointed as the acting chairman of the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) for a period of one month effective Nov 18 till Dec 17.
His appointment was made by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg following SDMC’s chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas taking leave after undergoing a minor heart procedure two days ago.
Uggah has been admitted at a private hospital here after he underwent a minor operation to unblock an artery to the heart and his condition was reported to be stable after the operation.
Uggah, who is also Deputy Chief Minister, has applied for a month’s leave to rest, and SDMC has been issuing press statements on the daily Covid-19 updates.
This morning, Masing joined other SDMC members in a zoom meeting at his office, the first such meeting after his appointment as SDMC acting chairman.
During the meeting, Masing who is also the Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development, reminded all SDMC members to be vigilant and to take extra precautions so that red zone areas can turn to yellow faster.
“At the same time, the public must adhere strictly to the SOP (standard operating procedures) set by the Federal and Sarawak Government, no matter which zone you are in”, he said.
Another area which Masing expressed his concern is border security.
He reminded all agencies monitoring the borders to ensure that no illegal visitors can cross the border into Sarawak, so as to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic and for security purposes.
“The committee will meet on Sunday, November 22, 2020 to decide on the status of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in Kuching Division wether it should be extended or otherwise. This also takes into consideration the number of new cases within the next two days.
“In terms of travelling inter-zones from red to green and orange, or vice-versa, it requires police permit. However travelling from green zones to another green zone in which most of Sarawak is green, it is not prohibited and nor are business activities disallowed, provided SOPs are adhered to,” added Masing.
Also present during the meeting Masing’s office was Deputy State Secretary (Rural Transformation) Datuk Ik Pahon Joyik, while attending the meeting via zoom conferencing were Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, Datuk Lee Kim Shin, residents from various divisions and heads of various agencies. — DayakDaily
