KUCHING: Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has stressed that companies who refuse to cooperate with regard to Covid-19 related measures will not be overlooked by government agencies.
“Whether they are contract or permanent employees, operators are urged to closely monitor their employees to comply with the standard operating procedure (SOP),” he said in a statement on Friday (Feb 26).
He said even if employees had been tested and the results were negative, the flow of people still had to be controlled into order to prevent the spread of the virus.
“If circumstances permit, large companies such as Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), as industry leaders, should set a good example by strictly monitoring the company to ensure that all employees comply with the SOP.
“The recruitment of workers from the red zones into Bintulu should be stopped temporarily. If the situation does not permit this, the individual must undergo a Covid-19 test first and not wait until they are diagnosed after entering Bintulu.”
The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China said that of the confirmed cases detected in Bintulu recently, up to 85 per cent were from quarantine centres while the rest were those who had gone to private or government hospitals to undergo swab tests.
He said most of the confirmed cases were contract workers in the oil and gas sector who had come from red zones.
Tiong emphasised that although the industry or agents had advised their contract staff to hide this information, he had still obtained strong evidence based on their research and tracking efforts. Thus, he called on this group not to jeopardise anti-pandemic efforts.
“Before this, I have repeatedly asked companies to fulfil their social responsibility to jointly combat this pandemic, including providing correct and honest information during the Health Ministry’s investigations, as well as not trying to confuse and hide information.
“Otherwise, they will bear the consequences if the outbreak is out of control. This is a very irresponsible act.”
