Photo shows the longhouse in Nanga Ngungun resettlement area, which is currently under lockdown following the detection of a positive Covid-19 case there.
KANOWIT: Longhouse chieftains play a crucial role in helping the authorities compile first-hand information and provide updates on the Covid-19 situation affecting their respective communities.
The community leader of Ngemah Ili area, Penghulu Ron Ugai, says it is very important for these chieftains to be at their respective longhouses once there is any Covid-19 infection detected among fellow villagers.
“The chieftains must remember their core duty is to look after their people.
“During this difficult time, it is most crucial for the chieftain to relay to his fellow villagers key information from the authorities, such as the types of assistance available and what needs to be done in the event that his longhouse is placed under lockdown.
“Similarly, the chieftain can convey the needs of their people directly to the authorities,” he said when contacted.
Ron had observed that some longhouse chieftains in areas under his jurisdiction had stayed elsewhere, instead of being with their own communities.
“When this happens, they (chieftains) rely on others to do their job because they’re not there.
“As a result, there are delays in the delivery of important information and directives that require urgent attention,” he pointed out.
On a related matter, Ron said that a Covid-19 screening took place at Nanga Ngungun Health Clinic yesterday, following the detection of a confirmed infection at one of the 25 longhouses in the Nanga Ngungun resettlement.
“The authorities imposed lockdown on that particular longhouse, effective last Thursday, and conducted swab test on the residents last Saturday.
“I have also submitted a total of 1,183 names of residents in the resettlement to Kanowit District Office for Covid-19 screening purposes,” he added.
Nanga Ngungun is among three resettlement schemes established in Kanowit under the now-defunct Rajang Area Security Command (Rascom) in the early 1970s, during the communist insurgency in areas within the Rajang Basin.
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