KUCHING: The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee’s (SDMC) decision to postpone the reopening of schools is a fine example of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government respecting Sarawak, says Michael Tiang.
The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Youth chief said PN recognised the state government exercising its autonomy in deciding the best for Sarawakians.
“By giving a free hand to SDMC, the PN government is confident that SDMC knows best when is the most appropriate time to reopen schools while monitoring and controlling the pandemic situation here.”
Tiang was responding to Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching’s statement that Sarawak’s decision to delay the reopening of schools was a slap for the Education Minister.
“In fact, PN’s high regard for Sarawak’s autonomy is a slap for the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, which in many ways continued to keep Sarawak autonomy issues in limbo during its days of governance,” Tiang pointed out.
He said Sarawak under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) had on several occasions during PH’s administration reiterated the importance of giving back Sarawak its autonomy on health and education but little attention was given.
“Nevertheless, during this Covid-19 pandemic, PN government and the state government had been using its autonomy in fighting the outbreak.”
On Feb 19, Senior Minister (Education) Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that pre-school, Year 1 and 2 pupils would return to school on March 1, while Year 3 to Year 6 sessions would start on March 8, and secondary school students in Group A states would start school on April 4 while secondary school students in Group B states would return on April 5.
However, on Feb 26, SDMC announced that schools in Kuching, Samarahan, Julau, Meradong, Sibu, Kapit, Bintulu, Subis and Miri districts would remain closed until March 14.
