KUCHING, May 4 — The Advocates Association of Sarawak (AAS) today called on the state government to request the federal government to defer the application of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) in the state.

Its president Ranbir Singh Sangha said the state’s decision to opt out from implementing the CMCO could be inconsistent with the Prevention and Control of the Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) or PCID Act.

He said there are two laws relating to public health which are applicable in Sarawak, of which one is the PCID Act, and the other is the state Protection of Public Health Ordinance 1999 (Cap. 30) (PPH Ordinance).

He said section 15 of the PPH Ordinance contains a crucial proviso, that is, the provisions of any order made by the state minister under the same Ordinance shall not be inconsistent with the PCID Act or any regulations made under 11(2) PCID Act.

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“In other words, if there is any inconsistency between the federal law and state law, the federal law shall prevail,” Ranbir said in a statement.

He added under section 11(1) PCID Act, the federal Minister of Health by order in the Federal Gazette, declares any area in Malaysia to be an infected local area if he is satisfied that there is an outbreak of an infectious disease in such area, or that any such area is threatened with an epidemic of any infectious disease.

“Further, under section 11(2) PCID Act the federal Minister of Health may, by regulations made under the PCID Act, prescribe the measures to be taken to control or prevent the spread of any infectious disease within or from an infected local area,” he added.

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Ranbir, however, said section 15 PPH Ordinance prescribes that when any area in the state has been declared an ‘infected local area’ under section 11(1) PCID Act, the state minister has responsibilities for public health may by order regulate the movement into and from the infected local area.

He added the state minister may also prescribe such measures or actions to be taken by the Sarawak director of Health, public health officer, any state government officer, or any person within or residing in the infected local area, to prevent the spread of the infectious disease or necessary for its eradication.

Separately, the state government will follow the latest federal ruling in allowing four persons to travel in the same vehicle, Sarawak Disaster Management Committee Chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said this evening.

“The state stance is that since this has been gazetted as the law, Sarawak will comply accordingly.

“In other words, we now allow four persons from the same family to travel in a vehicle,” he said, adding that the ruling took effect from today as announced the Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday.

The previous ruling, under the movement control order (MCO), only allowed two persons from the same family to travel in the same vehicle.