Senator Alan Ling
MIRI: Senator Alan Ling stresses that if Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) is to continue its quarantine policy, it must not practise double standards in terms of quarantine order.
Ling said he himself was exempted by SDMC from undergoing quarantine when he applied to enter Sarawak upon the completion of the Senate sitting but chose to instead self-quarantine for the safety of the community.
“Though I had my swab tests numerous times before, during and after the sitting, upon returning from Kuala Lumpur where high number of cases were reported, I requested to undergo self-quarantine at a separate house on my own and requested to be tested again,” he said.
Ling said the virus does not differentiate between classes, and as ministers or leaders, one should lead by example.
He argued that if VVIPS just needed to have swab test result three days before flying back, why was the rule not applied on ordinary people as well?
“The VVIPs can move around in the community freely, but commoners are subject to quarantine and to be tested on the second and eighth day.
“The leaders from GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) state government must understand the feeling of the people on the ground, they feel unsafe and unfair to see the double standards policy being applied according to classes,” said Ling.
Ling, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak secretary, urged SDMC to revise its decision so that the practice is standardised and unified in its effort to fight the spread of the virus.
Ling returned to Miri on New Year’s Eve (Dec 31), and is currently undergoing self-quarantine which saw him receiving praises from netizens on his social media account for doing so.
It is learnt that all the six Sarawak MPs from DAP also underwent self-quarantine upon returning from Kuala Lumpur at the end of the Parliament sitting.