Lo Khere Chiang – File photo
KUCHING (Sept 19): Residents under the jurisdiction of Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) have been urged to give their full cooperation to enumerators deployed by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) Sarawak to carry out the Malaysian Population and Housing Census 2020 (Census 2020) via face-to-face interview.
MPP chairman Lo Khere Chiang said the State Disaster Management (SDMC) has given the approval for the face-to-face interviews to be carried out in strict compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as wearing of double face masks and practising physical distancing by the enumerators.
“I have the assurance from the DOSM Sarawak that its enumerators will carry along with them their department-issued identification cards while on duty.
“The enumerators, who will be out on duty in pairs, will carry out the census on a daily basis, including public holidays starting in the morning until the evenings of around 5pm to 7pm,” he said in a statement.
The Census 2020 has resumed from 16 August until 31 October 2021 after several postponements since July 7, 2020 due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
The Batu Kitang assemblyman said the evening hours are meant to suit the convenience of office workers who only return home after working hours.
“Normally the census interview will only take about 15 minutes. The enumerators can conduct their interview at the gate should the house-owners be reluctant to allow them into their house compound.
“In the event that the house owners are not at home, the enumerators will issue a Letter of Re-Visit (Surat Lawatan Semula) seeking for a new date for the census,” he said.
He also said that if house owners are in doubt of the identity of the enumerators, they can always call the DOSM Sarawak for verification.
“All particulars gathered are strictly confidential and solely for data compilation,” he added.
Lo said it is vital for the government to gather adequate and accurate data through census not only to identify the population’s demographic and socio-economic characteristics.
“More importantly, it will determine how government funding will be spent across the country,” he said.
He said the data gathered will help identify areas that are lacking especially in public services and infrastructures such as hospitals, schools, roads, and public transport and assist government and local authorities to make plans to meet the needs of the areas.
“In short, the population and housing data is very important for the government to formulate policies for the well-being of the nation.
“This is to ensure that every plan meets the needs of the target groups and no one is left out.”
For further enquiries on Census 2020, please contact the DOSM Sarawak Operation Room at 082-203994 or 082-230604 between 8am to 1pm.