KUCHING, May 4 — DAP’s Padungan State Assemblyman Wong King Wei today expressed support for the state government not to re-open most of its economic sectors under the conditional movement control order (CMCO) announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last Friday.
He said the state government was ‘wise’ to maintain the status quo to contain the spread of coronavirus infections.
Wong also called on the state’s Cabinet ministers not to interfere in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the state government ought to emulate its counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia by leaving all Covid-19-related tasks to medical professionals.
"Let the doctors, who are the experts make the decision.
“I urge Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Professor Dr Sim Kui Hian to pull himself out of the medical team, and let the professionals do their job and make decisions in a professional manner without any political interference," he added.
Although Dr Sim is a cardiologist, Wong said Sarawak would not want to see politics get in the way of the state's fight against the Covid-19 crisis.
Separately, Human rights activist Peter John Jaban cautioned the state government against lifting the movement control order (MCO) to avoid another wave of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infections in the state.
He said the state government should learn from what happened in Singapore, Japan, and Canada that prematurely eased lockdown restrictions.
He said Sarawak still has a high Covid-19 death rate of 3.4 per cent compared to the national figure of 1.7 per cent.
“With 523 total positive cases as of yesterday, a high figure that is still increasing, the state government is right to be cautious,” Jaban said.
“I won't be surprised if there are further waves of Covid-19 infections after Hari Raya and Gawai Dayak celebrations if there is no control of movement of the people,” he said.
Jaban said the state is not obliged to take orders from the federal government to ease restrictions under the CMCO.
He said it is not just Sarawak, but also other states such as Sabah, Kedah, Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, which have opted out of CMCO, which began today.
Jaban urged the state government to use the state’s large reserves to mitigate the impact of post-Covid-19 and kickstart the economy in various sectors.
He also stressed that individual Sarawakians must take responsibility for their own actions and the health of the communities.
“We can still follow the measures put in place under MCO for our safety so that our lives can return to this new normal as quickly as possible.
“Employers must also take responsibility for their workers when they finally do return, for example, and allow them to work from home where possible,” he said, adding that they cannot prioritise profits over the health of their workers.
