James Masing
KUCHING (June 12): The Ministry of Transport must instruct Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) to be on the alert for river travellers who are not following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) set by the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), suggested Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing.
“Sarawak Rivers Board should check all boat users and find out the reasons for their journey as how the police do. While in Kapit in the last three days, I found that these river users have been breaking the rules of Movement Control Order (MCO).
“The Ministry of Transport must, therefore, instruct SRB to be alert of these river travellers who are not following SDMC SOP. They can be the spreader of Covid-19 into Kapit and the surrounding longhouses!” he said in a statement yesterday.
Masing, who is the Minister of Infrastructure and Ports Development, noted that the police have been doing their jobs well in carrying out roadblocks to check on travellers going in and out of Kapit town.
“They have been quite successful despite the various tricks the car users used to by-pass the police roadblocks.
“However, the worst culprits who came in and out of Kapit town with impunity are those who use speedboats and longboats. PDRM has no authority and no means to stop these river users,” he said.