THE Sarawak disaster management committee has told an opposition politician that Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg’s official visit to Kapit yesterday was “in total compliance with the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the movement control order (MCO)”.

The committee said the visit to gauge the preparedness of Kapit division in implementing the Covid-19 vaccination programme and symbolically hand over food baskets at the town square was also approved by it.

Parti Sarawak Bersatu’s potential candidate for the Pelagus seat in the forthcoming state election, Kristoffer Nyuak Bajok, in a Facebook post and a statement earlier today, described the gathering amid the full lockdown as “unwise and uncalled for”.

He said the gathering, which he claimed attracted a big crowd, was against the lockdown SOP and “too dangerous”.

“All (the) VVIPs may be well protected having been vaccinated but certainly not all the people in Kapit,” he said.

“We are talking about a total lockdown to curb the progressing increase in Covid-19 cases and trying to achieve herd immunity. But how to make it possible when large gatherings of this kind are organised by GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) and when not all the local people are vaccinated?”

The committee, however, disputed the big crowd claim by pointing out that “only limited and relevant guests were invited in accordance with the SOP protocol”.

It said the guests were recipients of the Bantuan Bekalan Makanan Sarawakku Sayang, a representative for the Kapit parliamentary constituency, six representatives for the three state assembly seats that make up the parliamentary constituency and four community leaders from the division.

It added that all of them also went through the SOP of body temperature check and MySejahtera registration under the watchful eyes of officers of the Health Ministry.

“The others present were members of the organising committee, security personnel and members of the media,” it said, adding that no other members of the public were involved.

Prior to the Kapit visit, the chief minister had visited other towns, such as Miri, Sibu and Bintulu, for the same purpose. – June 11, 2021.