KOTA KINABALU – Parti Warisan Sabah has hit out at the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) over its reliance on the federal government in handling the Covid-19 crisis.
The state opposition party’s deputy president, Datuk Darell Leiking, described the situation as “sad”, and said the moves made by the state government may delay economic recovery.
In a statement, he drew a comparison with the Gabungan Parti Sarawak administration, saying Sabah’s neighbour is handling the coronavirus outbreak well without Putrajaya’s involvement.
“With the vaccination process now taking place in the country, we can say we are entering the post-Covid-19 period, and the economy is slowly opening up with people going back to work.
“However, it is rather sad to note that several important sectors in Sabah are facing inefficiencies due to the unnecessary SOPs decided by the Perikatan Nasional federal government.
“These unnecessary SOPs are troublesome to Sabahan employees because they reduce performance and productivity at the workplace.
“Sarawak has its own state Disaster Management Committee that is empowered to manage the vaccination process for Sarawakian employees in the services, hotel, construction, manufacturing and plantation sectors.
“But, GRS disbanded the Sabah Covid-19 Command Centre that was established by former chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, instead allowing the National Security Council (NSC) to make all the decisions for Sabah.”
He said the direct dependence on the federal NSC can cause the state to lose its ability to handle its own administration.
“This is evident when offshore workers have to endure a 10-day self-isolation before they can go to work, and another 10-day quarantine upon returning from offshore, notwithstanding the swab tests.”
Such SOPs are time- and money-consuming, he said, adding that oil and gas companies are rethinking investing in Sabah.
Warisan treasurer-general Terrence Siambun said Sabah’s overdependence on Putrajaya is hurting the state’s business communities.
The inter-district travel ban has affected many industries, including hospitality, which relies on inbound tourism, he said.
The party’s Papar MP, Ahmad Hassan, said following an amendment to the emergency ordinance, the government can now approve funds outside the norm of parliamentary and assembly debates.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin this week amended Section 10 of the ordinance to allow for spending without getting lawmakers’ approval.
Ahmad described this as a betrayal of Malaysia’s parliamentary democracy system.
“Muhyiddin should have allowed Parliament to convene instead of introducing new clauses under the emergency ordinance that are deemed unnecessary.” – The Vibes, April 4, 2021
