This year’s RWMF to be held as scheduled — Abdul Karim

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Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah

KUCHING: This year’s edition of Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) will be held as scheduled from July 10 to 12 despite the global Covid-19 outbreak.

This was announced by Tourism, Culture and Arts Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah at a press conference after launching the Rainforest World Music Festival 2020 at the Old Court House auditorium here yesterday.

“The recent outbreak of Covid-19 had certainly put a huge challenge on tourism efforts. I believe the state government has been very proactive. We are among the first states that put really intensive measures on entries to Sarawak via the airports, ports and overland.

“For all these measures, we are blessed to see that so far, we do not have any positive cases in Sarawak,” said Abdul Karim, adding the RWMF must go on and situations on Covid-19 will be monitored.

“We are monitoring the situation, we know that there have been slight increase of victims or instances of Covif-19 positive cases in South Korea, Italy, China and Iran but on the other hand, there are many countries where there have not been any increase and big reduction of cases.

“Who knows, Covid-19 might just slow down in July,” he said.

Nevertheless, he assured that the state government would monitor the situation in a stringent manner.

“We will be putting up signage at all entry points of the event venues, warning signs, placing sanitizers in all of these places.

“Even when we are doing our RWMF promotions, we will be cautioning people. Life has to go on, we need to be entertained but when we organise events, we take precautionary measures,” he said.

Among those at the press conference were Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee, Sarawak Tourism Board chairman Datuk Abdul Wahab Aziz, Sarawak Tourism Board chief executive officer Sharzede Salleh Askor, RWMF director Yeoh Jun Lin, RWMF Fringe festival director Donald Tan and festival director for Rainforest in the City, Abdul Shakir.