BY ANTHONY SINGON & ARIANNA ARISSA
THE Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government is determined to preserve the sovereignty and security of the state from any form of threat.
This is to safeguard the state’s harmony, peace and stability for the people of Sarawak to prosper and live in peace.
In April this year, the state government set up the Sarawak Coast Guard to look after coastal areas under the state’s jurisdiction.
The Sarawak Coast Guard mainly operates in gazetted marine parks like Similajau National Park, Tanjung Datu National Park, Talang Satang National Park, Miri Sibuti Coral Reef National Park, Santubong National Park, Limbang Mangrove National Park, Bruit National Park and Luconia Shoal National Park.
And the Sarawak Security and Enforcement Unit (UKPS) has been tasked to work together with other government agencies including the Sarawak Forestry Corporation to safeguard locations of strategic importance.
“I have decided that UPKS would support other government agencies in locations that are strategically important to us, including at electricity generation dams such as the Bakun and Baleh dams as well as in the interior areas on top of it working with the police and army,” said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
With the establishment of the Immune Belt Enforcement Team (IBET) under UKPS, he said it is part of the state government’s comprehensive strategy to control the spread of rabies among stray dogs in Sarawak.
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the state government through Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) went to great lengths to protect Sarawakians from the deadly virus.
Sarawak was among the earliest states in Malaysia to roll out its Covid-19 vaccination programme to inoculate Sarawakians of all ages particularly senior citizens and high risk groups.
Since the pandemic was unprecedented, the state government took the initiative to establish the Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre (SIDC) as a catalyst for the development of the biomedical industry in Sarawak.
The centre does not only prepare Sarawak for any future disease outbreaks, but also to aggressively push the state’s economy and development forward.
“The state government is taking initiatives to be in charge of its own destiny while maintaining close interaction and collaboration with the federal authorities. We mean business and I think we are the only state government willing to invest into research centres.
“The idea of having our own research facility is to enable us to explore the potential of our biodiversity,” Abang Johari.
