Wilfred Mac
MIRI (May 19): Dayak Association Miri (DAM) has suggested that local community leaders set up their own committee to monitor closely compliance with the standard operating procedure for the coming Gawai celebration at their respective longhouses.
Its president Wilfred Mac stressed that the community leaders must make sure that their longhouse folks strictly comply with the SOP and stop entry of visitors during the celebration.
There should not be double standard on the implementation of the SOP, Wilfred added.
“With the current Covid-19 situation, SDMC (State Disaster Management Committee) must enforce strictly and consistently the rules and regulations that had been implemented and there shouldn’t be any compromise to those who break the rules.
“It’s better to be cruel in order to be kind,” he said in a press statement yesterday.
Wilfred said the association also urged Gawai celebrants here not to return to their longhouses for the celebration and there should not be any ‘ngabang’ (house to house visiting) in the longhouses and in the towns.
“Statistics have shown that out of around 7,000 longhouses in Sarawak, some 600 longhouses had to undergo lockdown.
“Thus, we hope no longhouse will have to be locked down arising from Gawai celebration. Our target should be zero Covid case or cluster arising from the celebration.”
He also said the association gave its full support to SDMC for coming up with the Gawai Celebration SOP this year, covering the pre-Gawai activities, the Gawai celebration itself and post-Gawai celebration.
In view of that, he advised the celebrants to celebrate Gawai under the new norm to break the chain of Covid-19 infection.
“The Gawai SOP should be strictly followed to protect themselves, their family members and the people living in the longhouse.”
He warned that failure to comply with the SOP would result in them being compounded.
On a related matter, he informed that there would be no Miri Divisional level Gawai celebration this year which was supposed to be headed by the association.