KUCHING, Dec 19 ― Sarawak’s Ministry of Transport today warned regional bus companies that appropriate action and severe penalties will be imposed upon them if their drivers are found to be ferrying undocumented foreign workers.

“We need the full cooperation of all regional or express bus companies to take immediate action on the directive based on the decisions of the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC),” Minister of Transport Datuk Lee Kim Shin said in a statement.

The warning was issued after four undocumented Indonesian women who tested positive for Covid-19 were detected to be boarding a regional bus from Sibu to Serian on December 17.

Lee said SDMC, in its meeting yesterday, had made a number of decisions that must be strictly complied with by all regional or express bus companies operating in Sarawak with immediate effect.

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He said they must make sure that foreign workers who intend to purchase bus tickets to travel within Sarawak must first produce their valid passport before any tickets could be issued to them.

“The bus companies must fully ensure that their bus drivers do not pick up any passengers especially foreign workers along the regional or express bus journey,” Lee said.

He said the enforcement agencies such as Immigration Department, police, Road Transport Department have been requested to do a spot check on regional or express buses especially to detect undocumented foreign workers in the state.

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Based on CCTV footage, the four women left Sibu on a bus at around 1am on December 17 and reached Serian the same day.

Upon arriving in Serian, they made their way to the Indonesian border bazaar of Entikong on foot via rat trail.

SDMC, in a statement on December 17, confirmed that the four women were among the nine new cases that were detected in the state.

They had gone for a swap test for Covid-19 on December 15 at a private clinic in Sibu and the outcome was found to be positive on December 16.