Tabligh members among 23 allowed to enter Sabah

By Nancy Lai and Alen Kee

KOTA KINABALU: The State Government has granted special permission to 23 Malaysians to enter Sabah through the CIQS in Tawau, said State Secretary Datuk Safar Untong. Safar, who is also chairman of the Sabah Covid-19 Command Centre, said the 23 included 12 tabligh members who participated in a religious gathering in Gowa Sulawesi.

The other 11 are civillians. He added that 21 were Sabahans while the remaining two were from other states in Malaysia. "However, only 18 of the group arrived in Tawau from Pulau Nunukan today (yesterday). They are all taken to the Tawau district quarantine centre where they will stay for 14 days," he said in a statement yesterday.

Safar disclosed that the remaining five people including two children, cancelled their intention to return to Sabah yesterday as they decided to stay in Nunukan, Indonesia until the Movement Control Order (MCO) is lifted.

The 12 tabligh members and six Malaysians were safely escorted to Tawau by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Tawau Zone and Royal Malaysian Police (Marine Police) Tawau yesterday morning.

Tawau Maritime Zone Deputy Director of Operations, Maritime Commander Mohd Yusri Hussin said the joint special operation involved two maritime patrol boats, one marine police boat and two passenger boats carrying the returnees from the MalaysiaIndonesia border jetty, Sebatik Island.

He said the 18 individuals arrived at the Tawau Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) terminal about 10.45am.

"Upon arrival, they were all taken over by the Ministry of Health (MoH) special task force and were brought to the Tawau Teachers' Institute to undergo 14-day quarantine," he said.

Meanwhile, Safar said that the government is very concerned about the lack of crowd control in a few supermarkets and central markets throughout the state during the MCO. "For example the crowded situation in the Tawau central market on March 28 which was made viral by netizens. In line with this, the State Government has instructed the police, as the enforcing body, and the local authorities to intensify the monitoring of these premises," said Safar.

According to him, all factories and premises involved in food production have been ordered to disinfect their premises and ensure that they maintain a high level of cleanliness as well as monitoring. "Should any of the staff test positive for Covid-19, the respective factories or premises must be closed and disinfection must be carried out immediately," he stressed.