Enhancing’s border control for the state
A key feature of Sarawak’s fight against Covid-19 lies in its borders – or, to be precise, those who cross them.
As Sarawak has extra autonomy in the administration of immigration matters, this layer of border control has given the state a useful means to curb Covid-19 outbreak.
The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has been very proactive in tackling issues relating to Covid-19 within the state. These include managing policies coming from the federal state and finetuning it towards Sarawak’s needs as seen fit.
One that stands out is that the SDMC has changed the procedures for returning Sarawakians after a new Covid-19 cluster known as the ‘IPT Cluster’ was found in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.
SDMC chairman Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah on May 16 said they had decided to take extra precaution by requiring samples to be taken from the returnees arriving from the peninsula, Sabah and Labuan once they touched down in Sarawak.
“They will be screened and placed at hotels until the test results of their sample are known.
“Only those whose samples test negative are allowed to go home, but are required to wear a QR-code wristband as they continue their quarantine at home,” he said at the daily Covid-19 update press conference last week.
He also said another decision by SDMC was to require Sarawakian civil servants in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Labuan to undergo the Polymerase Chairn Reaction (PCR) test three days prior to returning to the state.
“They can only be allowed back to Sarawak if their sample test result is negative,” he said.
Meanwhile, starting May 19, all Malaysians including Sarawakians who wish to travel into the state must apply for a permit from the police first before applying to the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
He said without the police permit, SDMC will not approve any application of those who want to enter Sarawak.
“This rule is in line with the directive by the Federal Government on inter state travel restriction,” he said during a daily SDMC press conference on Covid19 updates.
Uggah said after applying for interstate travel permits from the police, travellers who want to enter Sarawak must then apply again for another permit from SDMC through online by going to the website http://sdmc.sarawak.gov. my within 12 hours before entering the state.
On the same note, Uggah said the state government will continue to enforce strict restriction and screen all applications to enter the state because many big Covid19 cluster cases in the state were brought in by those coming into the state from overseas or those from other states in the country.
“Realising that reality, we are discouraging people from going back to their hometowns for Gawai or Hari Raya,” he added.
“The public are advised to avoid inter state or inter district movement to prevent the transmission of this disease into Sarawak especially into the rural area.
“Together, we all play an important role to protect Sarawak from the second wave of Covid-19.
Permission to enter the state
Non-Sarawakians travelling to Sarawak during the enforcement period need to apply, remotely, for permission to enter (exit) via the respective Sarawak’s Point of Entry (POE).
The Sarawak Immigration Department officers at the respective POE will then take the cue from this platform which is integrated to theirs, before letting a successful applicant into the state.
While Sarawakians are exempted from this entry process, they are still required to apply for permission to exit the state. These respective end-to-end processes have to be completed before the travel date.
“To keep us safe during and after MCO, the state government has put in place several safety measures, such as the Enter/Exit Sarawak platform, the online mandatory health declaration form and QR-coded wristband digital surveillance system,” SMA said.
“These platforms have been used to manage and monitor border and district movements.”
The initiative called EnterSarawak is a collaboration between SMA and Socoe Sdn Bhd (Socoe) which allows for contactless tracking of inbound and outbound travelers in Sarawak.
This system is integrated with multiple stakeholders that include SDMC, JPAM, Immigration and so on to collectively undertake their respective tasks yet work in complete unison.
Socoe chief executive officer Samuel Wong explained that the harmonised approach of collecting and transmitting data to and from border control agencies via a single and globally interoperable information structure and format avoids the unnecessary complexity in systems and allow for overall efficiency.
“Whether receiving a Stay Home Notice, Quarantine Order or more; EnterSarawak expedites the process of passengers in and out of Sarawak, while providing a secure method for The Government to verify acceptance for travel which creates a much needed layer of border security,” he told BizHive in an interview.
“For enhanced security, the app is also equipped with biometric security encryption to ensure only authorised individuals have functional access. Designed and developed with Sarawak’s leading experts and under great pressure within 36hours of the MCO to manage all points of exit/entry in Sarawak for the utmost safety of its people. As situations evolve, so does technology - and as such, we urge the public to continue updating and providing feedback for the existing digital initiatives so we may continue to further improve these technologies to serve Sarawak better.”
Touching on the QR- coded wristband surveillance system, it