THE State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Sarawak passed the Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Bill, 2020, yesterday (Nov 9).
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, in tabling the bill, said it sought to reduce the impact of Covid-19 and to modify the relevant provisions in the Ordinances referred to in the Schedule of the said Bill.
He pointed out that the Parliament passed the Temporary Measures to Reduce the Impact of Coronavirus Disease, 2019 (Covid-19) Act 2020 or “Covid-19 Act” on Oct 22.
“However, the Act only applies to the extent where federal laws are applicable to the state, and where state laws that have been declared as federal laws (e.g. Limitation Ordinance).
“To extend further support, the state government has taken a proactive approach to introduce this Bill which seeks to complement the Covid-19 Act and provide further temporary relief from obligations under various State Ordinances not covered by the Covid-19 Act,” he told the august House.
Among the state laws that are affected but not covered by the Covid-19 Act are: Native Courts Ordinance, 1992 [Ord. No. 9/92]; Local Authorities Ordinance, 1996 [Cap. 20]; Land Use (Control of Prescribed Trading Activities) Ordinance, 1997 [Cap. 23]; Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1998 [Cap. 26]; National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance, 1998 [Cap. 27]; Veterinary Public Health Ordinance, 1999 [Cap. 32]; State Fisheries Ordinance, 2003 [Cap. 54]; Minerals Ordinance, 2004 [Cap. 56]; Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Ordinance, 2013 [Cap. 69] and Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations, 2014 [Swk. L.N. 105/2014]; Forests Ordinance, 2015 [Cap. 71]; and Land Code [Cap. 81 (1958 Ed.)].
“The Bill provides that any statutory duties or obligations of any authority may be extended to allow the necessary functions of the authority affected by this pandemic to be properly exercised so as to provide the people with the best service possible,” explained Uggah.
“For example, Section 6(1) of the Charitable Trusts Ordinance, 1994 (Cap. 7), makes it mandatory for every Board of Trustees to submit a List of Property and Statement of Account to the Minister on or before March 31 each year.
“Since the date this year falls during the period of movement control order (MCO), clause 7 of this Bill allows the minister to extend the time for submission of those documents.
“Meanwhile, Clause 8 of the Bill allows for alternative arrangement with regard to convening, holding or conducting statutory meeting. With this clause, meetings may be conducted online using various applications such as Zoom and Skype,” he said.
Uggah also stated that Clause 9 of the Bill gave the state Cabinet the power to amend the Schedule, where Cabinet might by notification in the Gazette, amend the Schedule.
“The Bill also allows for the minister charged with any responsibility for any Ordinance listed in the Schedule, with the approval of the state Cabinet, to make regulations to provide further measures to reduce the impact of Covid-19 within the enforcement period of this Bill.
“This Bill, once passed, would be deemed to have come into force on March 18 this year and shall remain in force for a period of two years from the date of its publication. In the event the pandemic continues and the state government is of the opinion that this law should remain in force, the Chief Minister may make the necessary orders for its extension,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing seconded the Bill and 14 lawmakers debated on it before it was passed.
