KUCHING: Relevant authorities are urged to help petty traders and hawkers who have not received the Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance 6.0 (BKSS 6.0) package announced by the state government in June
Jong Yean Pin of Sarawak United people’s Party (SUPP) Kuching Branch said he recently visited some hawker centres and found that some had received the aid but many more had not.
In a statement today (Aug 28), he said as of August 25, about half of the hawkers and eatery operators in Padungan had received their first payments from the state government.
“Since some hawkers are elderly, they are in the dark about the status of their applications.
“Many hawkers felt that the process should be made automatic rather than having to go through the hassles,” he said.
Jong pointed out that most parts of Sarawak were entering the National Recovery Plan (NRP) Phase Three except for the southern zone, including Kuching, due to the ever-increasing Delta variant cases.
“We continue to tighten the standard operating procedures (SOP) include banning dine-in. However, will this restriction help reduce the number of confirmed cases?” he questioned.
The SUPP Kuching Branch, he explained, recently conducted a survey in the Padungan area.
“We asked the coffee shop owners about the situation, including whether banning dine-in could control the spread of the virus. We also collected opinions from the public.
“Some people said it was difficult to contain the spread of the virus,” said Jong.
He added that some business operators had expressed their desire to close down due to the severe interruptions in their operations.
“If the ban on dine-in can curb the spread of the virus, what about queuing up at the banks? Isn’t it equally contagious?
“To effectively contain the virus, we must have total control over every business and not just ban dine-ins.
“Furthermore, we must seal up our border effectively to stop people from entering the state through illegal means and stop the many overseas flights coming into the state daily,” he said.
