Baru Bian
KUCHING (June 19): Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian has called on the authorities to better communicate official directives to officers stationed at the Sindumin-Merapok border, to avoid causing inconvenience to those who need to cross on medical or compassionate grounds during the current Movement Control Order.
In a statement yesterday, he said two recent incidents at the border highlighted the need for clearer guidelines.
According to him, the first incident involved a dialysis patient in Lawas who has been going to Sipitang, Sabah three days a week for dialysis because there are not enough facilities in Lawas.
“In the first week of this month, the patient set out for Sipitang as he normally does, with a letter of approval to travel in his pocket. He was allowed to leave the Sarawak border at Merapok.
“However, when he reached the Sindumin side, he was denied entry even when he showed the officer on duty his approval letter. The reason given was ‘arahan dari atas’ (directive from the top).
“He was then asked to contact the Health Ministry in Kota Kinabalu but was unable to as it was a public holiday that day. After much to-ing and fro-ing with the officers on duty for two hours, he was finally allowed to enter,” said Baru, who is also Selangau MP.
He added that it was however ‘baffling’ that the patient was at the border trying to enter Sindumin on a matter of life and death, trucks carrying goods were allowed to enter freely without any hindrance.
“The patient had an approval letter to allow him entry for his treatment and yet was denied entry for over two hours. Is a person’s health and life less important than all the goods in the trucks going into Sabah?
“I am sure that the patient is as careful about observing the standard operating procedures (SOP) as they (truck drivers) are, if not more careful because of his condition.
“Obviously, the border officers are given the discretion to make decisions on whether to allow entry into the state. I hope this discretion can be exercised in a logical and compassionate manner,” he said.
On the second incident, Baru said it involved two individuals from Lawas residing in Kota Kinabalu, who had obtained a police permit to leave Kota Kinabalu at the Sindumin border to return to Lawas to pay their last respects to their mother who had just passed away.
He said they were denied entry at the Merapok side and told they would have to undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days if they came into Sarawak.
“Attempts were made to contact the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) for clarification. SDMC clarified that in these sorts of cases, entry could be granted for a period of two hours for the purposes of paying respects to the deceased.
“Unfortunately by the time this was made clear, the two individuals had already left the border to return to KK. This situation has happened to other people at other borders also, I was told,” said Baru.
He said he understood that exemptions will be given for prohibitive orders and officers will be given the discretion to make decisions in any given situation.
Because of this, he said it is important that this discretion should be exercised positively in situations where compassionate grounds warrant it.
Baru also called upon SDMC to clarify whether any clear guidelines had been issued on this matter, and whether or not these guidelines had been made known to the personnel on the ground responsible for enforcing the SOP.
“Many a time, these personnel have no idea about the latest policies and guidelines from the ‘atas’ people. We appreciate that frontliners play a crucial role in ensuring compliance with the SOP and keeping our borders secure.
“At the same time, I hope they know that where the situation warrants it, they have the discretion to make appropriate and right decisions to assist those who are in need of some understanding and compassion.”