KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has urged all Malaysians, including Sabahans, to take the implementation of the movement control order seriously.
He said this was necessary as the transmission of Covid-19 has become localised — in other words, Malaysians themselves have become carriers.
“This movement control order is implemented not to cause panic among Malaysians, but to ensure that the Covid-19 situation is taken seriously.
“It is also necessary that movement is controlled as the virus is now localised among Malaysians instead of its initial transmission via Chinese nationals from Wuhan, China,” he said during a press conference broadcasted today on Borneo Today TV’s Facebook page.
Shafie was responding to reporters’ questions on reports that the public have been seen eating and drinking at food outlets despite the movement control order taking effect today.
“The movement control order is only for two weeks, not two months or two years.
“I understand that there are problems in eateries and shops where food items may go bad, but this is to do with human life at stake. We hope Malaysians understand that this is a different environment we are experiencing at the moment, and hopefully, it will help reduce the spread of the virus,” Shafie added.
He also reminded Sabahans that they should not treat this period as a holiday.
“This is what we want to ensure. The environment is different and it is very serious.
“This is a time to plant in their minds that this is not the time to enjoy coffee at a cafe,” he added.
Commenting on a related matter, Shafie clarified that the entry ban into Sabah is not only for non-Sabahans, but also applies to Sabahans who have been living abroad.
“We made it clear that this precautionary step has been taken to reduce movement in Sabah and it applies to Sabahans as well. Especially those who have been living abroad for a long time, because we never know, they might have been visiting places like South Korea or other countries which have a high number of positive cases,” he said.
Yesterday, Shafie reportedly said that non-Sabahans will be barred from entering the state with immediate effect in a bid to combat the growing number of Covid-19 cases in the state.
He said that non-Sabahans are required to get special permission from the state government as well as provide medical documentation certifying that they are healthy.
Meanwhile, when asked about his exclusion as chief minister of Sabah from a special meeting with the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that took place yesterday, Shafie said it was important to focus on the Covid-19 crisis.
“The chief secretary to the government has already apologised, so we do what is necessary to move forward. Now, the more important thing is to focus on how to keep the people safe and healthy,” he said.
It was reported yesterday that mentri besar and Chief Ministers from Penang, Kedah, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Sabah were not invited to a special meeting with the prime minister.
When Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders queried this, a clarification from the Chief Secretary of the Government Datuk Seri Mohd Zuki Ali said, it was a mere misunderstanding and that respective state’s development directors were invited for the meeting. 
