KUCHING, March 18 — Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the compound for violating the government’s Covid-19 preventive standard operating procedures (SOP) is not an issue if the people focused on protecting themselves against the virus.
Defending the government’s decision to raise the compound from RM1,000 to RM10,000 recently, the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman said compliance should be driven by the people’s aim to stay healthy and not a fear of being fined.
“We must comply with the SOP not because we are afraid of being compounded and punished, but because we want to be healthy and well.
“If we and our family are healthy, Sarawakians healthy, we would be able to live our lives normally as before Covid-19 came. We can do it as long as we are prepared to sacrifice and follow the SOP,” he told SDMC’s Covid-19 update press conference here.
Recalling a complaint from an individual who felt he was inconvenienced after he was admitted at a Covid-19 quarantine and low-risk treatment centre, Uggah said the SOP has been widely publicised and the people should know what the consequences of their actions are.
Besides releasing its SOP through the mass media, Uggah said community leaders and elected representatives have repeatedly urged the people to abide by the SOP, so there was no reason for anyone not to comply with it.
“Nobody is resistant to Covid-19. We have seen every day new cases, and people dying because of this disease.
“We managed to flatten the infection curve during the first, second and third wave because we all cooperate and comply with the SOP. Therefore we need the cooperation, understanding and commitment as well as the sacrifices of everyone,” he said.
Although the fine for SOP violations have been raised to RM10,000, the federal government yesterday announced guidelines in determining the compound amount according to the violation and gave discounts of 50 per cent or 25 per cent if the compounds were settled within a stipulated period. — Borneo Post Online
