File photo for illustration purposes
KUCHING: Companies at the Samajaya Free Trade Zone (SFTZ) are operating smoothly at a minimal pace during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais said today.
This is in line with the federal government’s policy to enable the Electrical and Electronic (E&E) sector to operate with some restrictions in place, said the Assistant Minister of International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Devlopment (Mintred) in a press statement.
There are also E&E companies in opposition-held states of Penang and Selangor doing the same, he said when reacting to Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s call for E&E companies in Samajaya FTZ to suspend operations during the MCO period.
“Companies in the Samajaya FTZ are only operating at a minimal pace. Some of them are operating at a rate of 20 to 30 per cent, in shifts and in separate smaller factories. Their management staff are also working from home,” he said.
These E&E companies also comply with all the MCO safety and health regulations, he stressed.
In fact most of these companies had executed preventive measures even before the implementation of the MCO (on March 18), for instance, limiting the movement of staff to affected areas, he said.
Some of these companies even housed mini clinics complete with doctors and nurses to monitor staff health and also formed compliance committees to make sure all SOPs are met, he added.
On March 26, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, who is also Minister of International Trade, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development visited five E&E companies with the relevant agencies including the police, Civil Defence Force and the army to inspect their procedures in regards to the MCO and to ensure that preventive measures were taken against Covid-19.
The police and Civil Defence Force will continue to monitor the situation and conduct routine checks at these companies and they will report their findings to the State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) through Mintred, Naroden said.
So far, no company in Samajaya FTZ has flouted the MCO and also none of them have recorded any cases of Covid-19, he said, adding that the exemption from the MCO for these companies will be reviewed should the need arise.
“Should there be a need to stop these companies from operating due to Covid-19, JPBN and our ministry (Mintred) will not hesitate to do so,” he said.
The Sarawak government has also allowed industries involving farming, fishing, plantation, plywood, wood and oil and gas to operate during the MCO period so that the economy will not be at standstill, he said.
The JPBN has also announced that auto spare parts, hardware and farming materials shops will be allowed to open two days (Tuesday and Thursday from 7am to 7pm each) per week during the MCO period for the same reason, Naroden said.