Chin Shu Ying
KOTA KINABALU: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) vice president Datuk Chin Shu Ying urged the government to enforce lockdown immediately after announcing the localities placed under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) as opposed to doing so after two days to ensure individuals who were infected with Covid-19 did not have a chance to flee and spread the virus to other areas.
He said the daily cases in Sabah had increased from 200 to over 1,000 in the past week.
“Although Sabah has the highest number of areas under EMCO in Malaysia, the infections are still on the rise.
“This makes the EMCO not effective because the government is giving residents one to two days to prepare for the targeted lockdown in their localities, which provides an opportunity for individuals to flee.
“By the time the ECMO is enforced, many residents would have moved out to avoid the lockdown.”
Chin said some of the residents who escaped could potentially be Covid-19 carriers.
“These individuals would spread the virus to other localities or spark a new cluster,” he said when officiating at the virtual annual general meeting (AGM) of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Sulaman division here yesterday.
Chin added that he was not in favour of a total lockdown or EMCO in Sabah because this would cripple the economy.
He said Sabah had lost its second largest revenue from tourism industry and could not afford to have more businesses close down as this would force more people into unemployment.
Meanwhile, Simon Chin Hock Siong was elected as new chairman of LDP Sulaman division for the 2021 to 2024 term at its annual general meeting here on yesterday.
The team led by Simon was also elected unopposed in the meeting held via video conferencing.
Simon said the division had passed a motion at the meeting to nominate Chin to helm the party and secretary-general Datuk Yong Wui Chung for the deputy president’s post in the party election this year end.
On the other hand, he urged the government to expedite vaccination for people in Sabah.
He said the government should simplify the vaccination procedures, set up more vaccination centres (PPV), including at private hospitals and clinics.
He further proposed the government to provide incentives to encourage vaccination among the people, such as giving out RM200 cash to the e-wallet of vaccine recipients who have completed two doses of vaccine.
“This will not only motivate people to get their vaccine jab, but also stimulate the economy.”
Chin also proposed those who have been vaccinated to comply with the standard operating procedure (SOP) because they might get infected as well, albeit with milder symptoms and less risk of mortality.”
Also present at the virtual AGM were LDP vice president cum Election Committee representative Datuk Chin Shu Ying and Central Youth Movement leader Sim Fui.