KUCHING: Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing is disappointed over the remarks by Sarawak Lorries Transport Association and Bintulu Lorry Association spokesperson Ling Kah Kiong who said that rT-PCR testing three days before entering Bintulu is an inconvenience to the transport industry.
He said implementing such a requirement was not to embarrass any group or person, but Ling as a community has chosen to put other groups and the entire population at risk.
“The health and safety of Bintulu are still at risk from Covid-19, and his irresponsible remarks ignore the efforts of frontliners in combating the pandemic day and night.
“Their sacrifice and hardship should not be used to pay for those who ignore for the sake of doing business,” he said.
Tiong also questioned Ling’s awareness of how serious the current pandemic situation in Bintulu. He should know that the number of confirmed daily cases, including that of Apr 1 had reached 100, not to mention the fatalities due to Covid-10 reported in the past few days.
“If such things happen around him, would he still want to make frivolous remarks with regard to his own relatives and friends?” Tiong asked.
He added Bintulu is an area of heavy industry and is highly dependent on a lot of foreign workers who would often come from other districts, including the red zones.
“It is natural to come to Bintulu looking for work, and we cannot stop them. After all, they need to earn a living for themselves and their families. With that, we have raised concerns and reminded companies in various industries to exercise their social responsibility when hiring employees from other districts.
“This includes testing prospective hires at their places of departure to ensure that they are not at risk of infection. However, these reminders have fallen largely on deaf ears. Many businesses still ignore the importance of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of pre-arrival testing,” he stressed.
If these stricter movement measures are not implemented and proactive preventive measures are not taken, the risk of having an out-of-control outbreak will be there and need to be forced to take countermeasures,” stressed Tiong who is also Prime Minister’s Envoy to China.
“If Ling thinks that the pre-arrival testing measures are too burdensome for the industry players, he is welcome to contact us to discuss, instead of making irresponsible statements and incite the people against following the safety precautions,” he said.
Tiong added Ling’s statement that each lorry needs three or four personnel was also hard to believe, as according to the SOPs stipulated by the authorities, each lorry can only carry up to two people.
“Is Ling not concerned about the SOPs at all in his industry or is he trying to mislead others into making the pandemic worse than it is now?” he asked again.
He said it was also unpleasant for Ling to hint that the cost of these tests will be passed on to consumers.
“The testing is done not only for the safety of the public but also as protection for the lorry drivers themselves. Making money should be secondary to keeping our society safe, and the people should have to pay for the selfishness of a few.
“As a member of Bintulu, how have Ling and his members helped contribute to containing the pandemic? If they are not willing to make some sacrifice, don’t make others do it. Fulfil your social obligations and be conscientious professionals,” he said.
He said an example of a cluster that broke out in a factory near Sibu should be a lesson, where the ‘patient zero’ (index case) of that cluster was a lorry driver with the factory.
“The outbreak had continued due to the selfishness of the industry. Is Ling willing to bear losses from having more clusters breaking out from companies, residential areas, and affecting innocent people?
“I, therefore, hope that the Sarawak Lorries Transport Association and Bintulu Lorry Association will think twice before making any statements again. In helming any trade association, their leaders must lead by examples and shoulder some responsibility by giving correct information and being good mediators, instead of inciting fear and creating chaos,” said the parliamentarian.
