KUCHING: Sarawak’s decision to allow Indonesian workers to enter the state would benefit the plantation and construction sectors, which are in dire need of additional manpower.
Kuching Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary-general Jonathan Chai Voon Tok said although the move would be well received by the sectors involved, Sarawak should be alarmed by the Covid-19 risks posed by foreign workers.
Having said that, he stressed that the employers concerned are advised to adhere strictly to the standard operating procedure (SOP) and rules prescribed by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
“We should be alarmed by the recent incidents where quite a number of foreign workers and returnees from overseas tested positive for Covid-19, and we should also learn from the experience of West Malaysia over the high rate of infection from the foreign worker cluster.
“The employers should also take a cautious approach by instructing their workers to adopt the new norm in the workplace and quarters by putting on face masks, washing their hands more often than usual and also observe social distancing.
“We do not want to have any imported cases now as the outbreak of the pandemic seems very much under control in Sarawak at this juncture,” he told New Sarawak Tribune yesterday.
On Wednesday, SDMC chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas announced that Sarawak would allow Indonesian workers to come for work in the state, provided that their employers pay for the cost of their quarantine and Covid-19 screening test.
