KUCHING: Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) agreed that Sarawakians abroad should not return to the state for festivals such as Gawai Dayak.
Its president Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom said this in response to the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) Sarawak Branch which advised Sarawakians not to go back first due to Covid-19 cases.
“Malaysia has experienced very serious medical implications given the present Covid-19 situation.
We should take precaution in whatever action we decide to take without risking our own safety and our loved ones.
“In this matter, SDNU is in parallel with MMA and the State Management Disaster Committee (SMDC) and requests all SDNU members and branches to cooperate and sacrifice by holding back and revising their Gawai plans this year,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Mawan said SDNU understood their frustration and eagerness to meet their families and friends but this was not just a matter of Gawai celebration but of life and death.
Mawan, who is also the Pakan assemblyman, congratulated Sarawak’s Covid-19 frontliners on achieving zero-positive cases in the state and hoped the situation would remain so as long as possible.
“Again, please be persistent on social distancing, bring along hand sanitisers everywhere with you and always wear a face mask whenever you go out,” he said.
