KUCHING, Feb 10 — In his Chinese New Year message, Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg today urged the public not to drop their guard against Covid-19 as the current fourth wave is even more vicious than previous infection spikes.
He said the current jump in cases, particularly in Sibu, had shown that a single source of infection can cause thousands of others to fall ill across Sarawak.
“We also have to be honest when providing information to the authorities, as inaccurate information may cause others to be unnecessarily infected,” said the chief minister.
He added the current Covid-19 spike has prompted the federal government to impose the Emergency and reintroduce the movement control order (MCO) for the whole country, except for Sarawak.
“In Sarawak, the MCO is only imposed in Sibu, the epicentre of the current increase in infections, with Kapit and Song now included, while the rest of the state is under a conditional movement control order (CMCO) as the conditions are not as serious as central Sarawak to enable life to go on while adhering closely to the SOPs and complying with the restrictions,” he said.
Abang Johari said it cannot be denied that the pandemic has caused tremendous hardship, with people losing their jobs and businesses downsizing or even closing for good.
But the state government has provided various forms of assistance through the five special aid packages under the Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS), he added.
He said a total sum of RM3 billion in the form of cash, subsidies, deferment of payments and loans have been given out under the special aid packages.
He added Sarawakians are lucky as they are able to receive assistance both from the state and federal governments.
He said consumers in Sarawak are given deductions in their electricity bills, with 23 per cent from the state government and two per cent from the federal government.
He added the deduction in electricity and water bills will continue until June this year under BKSS 5, incurring the government a total of RM198 million.
“Outside of BKSS assistance, the state government has already spent more than RM75 million to pay for the cost of quarantine in hotels for returning Sarawakians in order to protect the rest of people from imported infections,” he said.
He said the RM75 million payment has kept the hotel industry afloat.
“With strong savings and increased streams of revenue, the state government is able to provide the BKSS assistance during this difficult time, but government resources are not unlimited.
“We must maintain our financial prudence and continue to manage efficiently, while at the same time, invest especially in the provision of infrastructure and strategic projects,” he said.
