KOTA KINABALU, May 5 — Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal today said that it was poor timing for Putrajaya to threaten state governments with lawsuits during a time of pandemic.
Lamenting that the states were not consulted prior to the federal government making the decision on the conditional movement control order (CMCO), Shafie said the federal government should get input from states in future before making major decisions.
“This is not the time to argue about the law. What we are trying to do is save lives in Sabah. We have to cooperate to save lives. We cannot restore the economy at the expense of people’s lives.
“What if someone dies and they sue us? Should I be more afraid of being sued by businesses? I’m more afraid of people dying. The economy can be revived but people’s lives cannot,” he said.
Shafie said it was not that the state did not want to comply with the new rules of the CMCO which is to reopen all economic sectors but said there were factors that made it less viable to be carried out in the state.
He said that the few days between the announcement on Friday and opening yesterday was not enough time to prepare.
“If we open plantations and mills in the east coast but there are no flights, that’s an eight-hour drive across the state. Who are the buyers? The markets are not open yet. I’m an economist. I am keen to revive the economy but not like this. We have to be ready and unwind properly,” he said.
He said it was imperative that the states be consulted on such approaches so that the federal government had a better idea of the situation on the ground.
“I know there are meetings every day with the senior ministers. But we are not invited. But they could disseminate the information to us and get input,” he said.
Shafie was asked to comment on International Trade and Industry minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s comments that states could face legal action from corporations if they did not follow the SOPs in reopening businesses under the new CMCO.
He said that the spirit of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act 1988 (Act 342)
Shafie said he did not want to get too thick into the argument about laws but said he would be meeting with the State Security Council which includes the National Security Council next week.
He also said he will continue with the current laws until May 12 and will allow more sectors to operate in stages.
At the moment, the sectors allowed to operate are those in the food and agriculture business, medical, oil and gas, plantations and some other consumer businesses.
