KUCHING, June 15: Companies and landlords who stubbornly ignore standard operating procedures (SOP) should be held accountable over Covid-19 outbreak in their premises, Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing reiterated, given that the number of daily positive cases in the division is still on the high side.
Tiong pointed out that many Covid-19 cases had been detected in housing areas and workplaces, while “bilik sewa” (rented rooms) which frequently allow visitors to come and go unchecked continue to contribute to the figure in Bintulu Division as well.
“Many companies also stubbornly refusing to adhere to the Covid-19 prevention SOPs. During inspections, it is clear that they only follow the SOP on paper but not in actual practice. To them, these SOPs are simply optional.
“I have repeatedly suggested that any company with an outbreak must bear the costs of quarantine and testing, and provide meals to their employees and attendees under lockdown.
“These expenses should be borne by the company instead of the government because they refused to adhere to the SOP,” he said in a statement posted on his Facebook page today.
With so many outbreaks in Bintulu, Tiong was perplexed as to what went through the minds of these companies’ managers to pay no heed to the advice from authorities.
“It seems like they will just let the workers do what they want and panic when cases start to break out among them.
“I personally think that if a company really takes outbreak prevention seriously, they could have easily avoided having clusters among their staff.
“I have even spoken to some of the workers about why they are still out and about after work. Their reply was that their bosses never instructed them that they cannot do so,” he added.
He thus questioned how can Bintulu overcome this pandemic and protect the rest of the people if the workers and employers do not care to fulfill their obligations.
On rental rooms issue, Tiong, who is also Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, warned again that if landlords do not tighten the restrictions, it leaves the Bintulu Development Authority no choice but to seize these rental units.
“I have warned the landlords and owners of these places multiple times to ensure compliance with SOP. But there are many who ignore the risks.
“These owners must have conscience, not just collect rent and relax. They must take steps to ensure SOPs are in place or have their places locked down due to outbreaks,” he added. — DayakDaily
