Lau Pang Heng
KUCHING (July 31): PSB Kota Sentosa Branch representative Datuk Dr John Lau Pang Heng has urged the Sarawak government to reveal to the people new strategies to curb Covid-19 in the state following the extension of Emergency Order for Sarawak from Aug 2, 2021 to Feb 2, 2022.
He said the extension was good news for all, and that he was glad to learn that the Sarawak election would be postponed, but the public in the state would be very interested to know the actual strategies and concrete plans to import the necessary vaccines timely to combat the Covid-19 until to a manageable level.
“The state needs a new strategy to contain Covid-19 spread because the lockdown for the past few months has badly affected businesses, employees and the overall economy of Sarawak.
“Otherwise, if the situation doesn’t improve, inevitably the Emergency Ordinance will have to be extended after February 2, 2022,” he said in a statement today.
Lau revealed that he had interviewed 35 persons in Kota Sentosa in the past two days, and all of them felt that it would not be right for the authorities to call for the state election in Sarawak now, as peoples’ lives were of utmost importance.
He pointed out that the pandemic may be out of control as 96 Covid-19 cases have been reported in Kuching on July 29 although they have already been fully vaccinated.
Out of that, 54 have received their first dose and 26 others have not been vaccinated, he added.
“Can the authorities further enlighten members of the public on the 96 positive cases. How many were in Category One, Two, Three, Four or Five infections?
“What are the strategies adopted by the Ministry of Health to bring the R-naught (Ro) to below 1.0? As of July 30, Sarawak’s Covid-19 Ro was 1.05 as per the Ministry of Health’s report,” said Lau.
On another note, Lau said PSB urged the Election Commission (EC) to have the needed reform to allow those 18 years and above to vote.
“Parliament had already passed the law to allow those above 18 years to vote on July 16, 2019.
“EC needs to allow automatic voter registration so that when the Emergency is lifted, everyone can vote by presenting their identification cards,” he said.