KUCHING: Sarawak, through the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), has already started using its autonomy to dictate the enforcement of the movement control order (MCO).
SDMC deputy chairman Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said this in response to Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak rep Wong King Wei (Padungan) who suggested that Sarawak come up with movement restrictions that suited the situation in the state.
“That is exactly what Sarawak has been doing. Probably Wong didn’t realise that Sarawak has its own SDMC which determines what should be done during a crisis like the Covid-19 threat that we are facing now.
“We are not exactly putting aside the Federal MCO initiatives but only to complement it to suit Sarawak’s situation,” he said, countering Wong’s claim that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg was blindly following the decision of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Abdul Karim said certain initiatives done in Sarawak were slightly different from Malaya.
“Our (state’s) lockdown hours at night is from 7pm until 7am whereas in Malaya, it is from 8pm to 8am. Additionally, Sarawak allows hardware, mechanics, battery and tyre shops to open on Tuesdays and Thursdays while Kuala Lumpur only announced something similar after that which included barber shops and laundry … which Sarawak still does not adopt. So what Wong is suggesting is all the while already in place,” he elaborated.
When asked whether the state was going to consider implementing different strict levels of MCO, he replied in the negative.
“So far, no (decision on the matter yet) … but enforcement agencies have been advised to use their discretion when doing their enforcement. This means if a certain place is green zone or no cases of Covid-19, the enforcement is still quite relaxed.
“That is the reason why Kapit which is still classified as green zone and having no cases of Covid-19 still has its pasar tamu operating while other towns don’t.
“I guess that is a form of ‘zoning’ as what has been mentioned by Wong. Nonetheless, the SDMC has many heads and definitely can put in more ideas than just one head in Wong,” he told New Sarawak Tribune yesterday.
On Sunday, Wong opined that Sarawak should make full use of its autonomy to come up with movement restrictions that suited the situation in the state.
He said if certain businesses were permitted to operate, Sarawak could do so through zoning, and not based it on the types of businesses.
