KUCHING: Sarawak government has the right to regulate the operations of businesses in the state, said Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) deputy chairman Robert Lau Hui Yew.
With the state’s decision to not follow the federal government in opening up businesses under the conditional movement control order (CMCO), the rights to regulate the type of business that can operate during the movement control order (MCO) has been brought into question.
“This is where Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) can step in to regulate the application process for opening and the conditions like working hours.
“The mechanism should be fast and efficient. I believe this is best done by the Divisional SDMC headed by the respective Residents rather than centralised in Kuching,” he said in a statement issued yesterday.
Lau who is also the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Bawang Assan chairman believed that the state could even ask the federal government to delegate the authority on which industry could open for business in the state.
He said it was time for both the state and federal governments to strategise and plan for the long term in view of a likely scenario that Covid-19 would be around for quite a while until a vaccine is available.
“Life will not get back to normal soon. What we can be sure of is that we have to live with the new normal. It is therefore time to plan and regulate for the long term so as to alleviate the socio-economic impact the restrictions of movements have on the lives of the people.
“One area to work on is the environment we live and work in. Housing and commercial areas have to be planned to prevent the spread of diseases. Healthcare investments have to be ramped up. Cash should be replaced with digital currency,” he suggested.
Lau further said the state government should seriously look into allowing those areas in the green zones to open up subject to the following restrictions — social distancing, wearing of facemask and a ban on public gathering of more than 10 people.
He added that the state government should also immediately tighten the border between the red/yellow zones and green zones. The green zones in Sarawak are Kapit, Sibu, Sarikei and Mukah (including the Rajang Basin) plus Betong.
“Security forces should be deployed to guard the borders of red zones instead of borders between green zones and within the green zone itself. These details need to be looked into by SDMC and updated regularly,” he said.
