BARU Bian has called on officers manning border posts to be kept in the loop on the Sarawak disaster management committee’s pandemic travel guidelines.

He said this after two incidents at the Sindumin-Merapok crossing on the Sabah- Sarawak border were brought to his attention.

These were cases involving a dialysis patient in Lawas who was held up for hours at the crossing and the plight of two individuals from Lawas who wanted to return home to pay their last respects to their mother who had just passed away.

The Ba Kelalan assemblyman said if the travel SOP of the disaster committee had been better communicated to the officers at the border and clearer guidelines given on what they could do, these would not have happened.

The former works minister said in the case involving the dialysis patient, he has been going to Sipitang in Sabah three days a week for his treatment until new travel restrictions, including inter-state travel, when the movement-control order (MCO) was imposed.

Baru said in the first week of June and despite having a letter of approval to travel, the man was allowed to leave Sarawak at Merapok but denied entry into Sabah at Sindumin.

He said the reason the officers on duty gave to the man was ‘arahan dari atas’ (instructions from the top).

The man was then asked to contact the Health Ministry in Kota Kinabalu, which he could not do as that day was a public holiday.

Baru said after two hours of persuasion and appeal, the man was finally allowed to enter.

“The baffling thing was that while the patient was at the border trying to get entry into Sindumin on a matter of life and death, trucks carrying goods were allowed to enter freely without any hindrance.

“No doubt they had the necessary permits, but the patient also had an approval letter to allow him entry for his treatment and yet was denied entry for over two hours,” Baru said.

“The question to be asked is (whether) a person’s health and life is less important than all the goods in the trucks going into Sabah?

“What about the potential risks posed by the truck drivers? I am sure the patient is as careful about observing SOP as they are, if not more careful because of his condition.”

In the second incident brought to his attention, Baru said the two Sarawakians, who currently reside in Kota Kinabalu, had a permit from Sabah police for inter-state travel to return to Lawas to pay their last respects to their mother.

Baru said Sarawak border officers told them they would have to undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days even though they only needed just a few hours.

He said the border officers then contacted the disaster committee for clarification and by the time they were told that entry could be granted for a period of two hours for the purpose of paying respects to deceased family members, the two individuals had already left the border post to return to Kota Kinabalu.

Baru said similar situations had occured to other people.

“In order to prevent any more incidents such as these, there must be clear guidelines and instructions for the officers,” he said.

He said what exemptions could be given should be made clear to the officers.

“It is important that this discretion should be exercised positively in situations where compassionate grounds warrant it.” – June 18, 2021.