MIRI: The people, including rural folks in Baram, must discard the selfish attitude of ‘tidak apa’ as there is no one immune to the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Dennis Ngau
In expressing this concern, Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau urged the people, particularly the Ulu Baram folks, to adhere to the 14-day Movement Control Order (MCO) which was enforced on March 18.
“Covid-19 is a silent killer and there is incubation period. Those who have contracted the virus develop symptoms such as fever, cough and flu.
“Rural folks should not take lightly this disease because no one can escape from it if they do not take precautions. Therefore, it is important for the people in Baram to strictly follow the restricted movement order and take note of the health advisory on the need to practise high personal hygiene and social distancing too,” he stated to The Borneo Post yesterday.
He advised the people to stay at home and only go out when very necessary.
“I’m really worried and cannot imagine the cost that we have to pay if the whole longhouse folks are infected because one of the people in the longhouse has ignored the MCO.
“The medical team as well as the relevant authorities in Miri are now very stressful with handling many cases related to Covid-19. The most they want from the public is to heed the MCO and stay at home to control the spread of Covid-19,” he added.
Commenting on the involvement of the army in controlling public movement via roadblocks, he said there is nothing wrong for the army to assist the police throughout the MCO duration.
“The police team has a big task and it is very challenging for them to cover all areas. With the manpower support from the army, the police will be able to further enhance public safety including crime.”
Lukanisman Awang Sauni
Sibuti MP Lukanisman Awang Sauni shared the same concern with Dennis and urged the rural folks in his constituency to stay at home.
“There is no need to panic as the involvement of the army is mainly to assist the police in controlling public movement via roadblock.
“Let the government do their best to mitigate the Covid-19 outbreak and the main task for the public is to follow the restricted movement order.
“Now, only one person is being allowed to go out to buy essential goods. To me, this measure is rational to control the crowd at grocery outlets.”
At the same time, he advised the people to be more careful when buying facemasks and hand sanitizers online to avoid from being scammed.