Datuk Lee Kim Shim said that during its meeting on Tuesday (Aug 17) the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) had approved the proposal from the ministry and JPJ Sarawak to permit the reopening of driving schools in the state based on the new specific SOPs. – File photo
KUCHING (Aug 10): Operators of driving schools in Sarawak must strictly comply with the latest specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) under Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), Minister of Transport Sarawak (MOTS) Datuk Lee Kim Shim said.
He added that during its meeting on Tuesday (Aug 17) the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) had approved the proposal from the ministry and JPJ Sarawak to permit the reopening of driving schools in the state based on the new specific SOPs.
“Strict compliance by management and operators of the driving schools, workers, driving instructors/tutors and candidates or learners are required.
“The new specific SOPs are also available at the MOTS website,” he said in a statement yesterday.
According to Lee, all driving schools are responsible to submit the following information to their respective (nearby) Road Transport Department (JPJ) offices for verification and arrangement before they are allowed to reopen for business and provide services.
Besides that, the premises operators, workers, driving instructors/tutors must have completed their two doses of Covid-19 vaccination.
For now, all learners/candidates must have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccination before they can be accepted by the driving schools. However, after Aug 31, it will be mandatory for all learners to have completed two doses of Covid-19 vaccination before they can be accepted by the driving schools.
As proof of vaccination, the management and premises operators, workers, driving instructors and tutors as well as learners/candidates for driving licences must show their Covid-19 Vaccination Digital Certificate or Covid-19 Vaccination Card.
“The Road Transport Department (JPJ) Sarawak is responsible to ensure strict compliance with the new SOPs by all driving schools.
“In this connection, JPJ will carry out regular site visits and spot checks on the management and premises operators, workers, driving school instructors/tutors and learners/candidates for driving licences to ensure strict adherence to the SOPs.
“We trust that the new specific SOPs will help to ensure that driving schools can operate in an environment that is safe against infection and spread of Covid-19,” added Lee.
He said the reopening of driving schools will help in mitigating the economic impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the livelihood of all stakeholders involved and their related supply chain.
“For the moment, the reopening of driving schools for southern zone covering Kuching, Serian and Samarahan divisions is postponed until further notice due to the high positive cases of Covid-19. However, other zones or divisions in the state will proceed once JPJ has checked the compliance level with the SOPs by the driving schools.
“On behalf of all the 34 driving schools in Sarawak, I would like to thank the Sarawak government and SDMC for allowing the reopening of the driving schools under Phase 3 of the NRP in Sarawak,” said Lee.