No decision yet to the proposed reopening of Sarawak's borders come March 1

We have yet to decide with regards to the National Recovery Council’s (NRC) proposal to fully reopen our country’s borders on March 1. I had expressed my views to our media friends this morning on this matter which is expected to revive the State’s economic sector if we were to follow NRC's recommendations. Such decisions actually falls under the authority of Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) but in my personal opinion, it is the right time to do so. This is because many countries have already opened up their international borders...if we do not follow, we may be in trouble. Hence, I fully welcome NRC’s proposal, and it should be done without the mandatory quarantine. It will essentially boost our own Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS2030) because it helps to boost the various sectors which were badly hit by the pandemic the past two years.

I have asserted the fact that although the number of new positive cases have reached over 20,000 lately, Sarawak is one of the states with highest rates in the country in terms of vaccinated population including booster shots. Covid is here to stay and we have to accept the fact that we are living with it and the new norm. As long as we are vaccinated, we do not have to be too worried but we must instil awareness on the need to strictly adhere to all standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and SDMC. I am not saying that vaccinations, including the booster dose will prevent you from getting the virus but it will be milder (in terms of symptoms). That is why everyone must be reminded and to put their respective responsibility and efforts in complying with the SOP and safety. I am also advocating for the continue usage of the e-Health declaration form as the form can be approved online almost immediately. On the other hand, I strongly disagrees to requiring potential visitors to submit their applications through the EnterSarawak apps. This is because the apps is processed manually where SDMC gets a lot of applications on daily basis. With just a few staff available to process the applications, they are unable to cope, causing a large backlog of applications, as well as frustration and anger for applicants.