By Christopher Lidom
KUCHING, May 29: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has called for the community leaders to play an active role in efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 and facilitate the nation’s exit plan from the current Conditional Movement Control Order.
He said the community leaders must take it up now upon themselves to ensure that their area, especially the green zone, remains green, and at the same time help to relieve the frontliners of their burden, including to give them a bit of a break.
“Now the community leaders must take it upon themselves to take care of their own area, ensure that everybody are following the standard operating procedure (SOP) and call for a special meeting, be it with the village security and development committee (JKKK) or the local community themselves, and combined all of their forces.
“Basically of course, we will continue what we are doing and the frontliners will never stop until the whole thing is over. But in order to at least reduce a bit of the burden, the community leaders must execute their responsibility,” he said.
Muhyiddin said this during a video conference held yesterday, together with Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the Ministry of Health (MoH) director general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, on the latest Covid-19 development in the country.
The Prime Minister also noted that if there was anything that occurred in their area, the community leaders should inform the authorities instead of the authorities going to their area to monitor the situation all the time.
Muhyiddin opined that with limited resources, it was not possible for the authorities to monitor all the areas around the clock.
“The burden on the frontliners over a period of time will actually be reduced, although not for 100 per cent, but the public will have to take the responsibility and manage themselves better,” he said, adding that should be the part where the community themselves could discuss on.
As such, Muhyiddin suggested that a national campaign be launched to ensure a better coordination between all parties involved.
He said that it was mentioned in his previous speech as part of the country’s preparation for a total exit plan from the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
“But when it is going to be, we still do not know yet, as it could be for another two or three months and so on. This should not be done by the National Security Council (MKN), but by another committee for this campaign, so that the local leaders will take this as an initiative.
“So I think what we can do now instead of just asking them (community leaders), is to launch a major national campaign for the community themselves to discharge their responsibility in order to move away from what we are doing now. -DayakDaily.
