File photo for illustration purposes
KUCHING (Dec 22): The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) will launch ‘Ops Jala’ in an effort to curb the entry of illegal immigrants into Sarawak and to stop the spread of Covid-19, said its chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
“The details of the operation will be announced in the near future,” he told a press conference on Covid-19 updates today.
Uggah, who is also deputy chief minister, said that SDMC came to the decision after they found that illegal immigrants were contributing to the spike in positive cases, especially in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.
He revealed that the General Operations Force (PGA) in their daily Op Benteng has arrested one local and six Indonesian citizens at the Kampung Sungai Aping, Serian intersection during their patrol.
“There were also 11 Indonesians who were chased out at the ‘jalan tikus’ (illegal border tracks) in Kampung Biawak before they could enter Sarawak on Dec 19 and 20,” he said.
On another note, Uggah said that SDMC will be expanding Covid-19 screening activities at factories, farms and construction sites as a measure to control the spread of the virus in the state, following the increase in cases reported in the construction sector in Peninsular Malaysia.
“This is an ongoing activity and we require the cooperation of all, especially owners of premises and employment agencies in Sarawak,” he said.
He said that random screenings have been done on workers of factories, farms and construction sites since July statewide.
“To date, a total of 7,483 individuals have been screened in Sarawak, and one individual was found positive while the rest tested negative for the virus,” he said.