Association calls for S’wak MPs to push for Parliament to reconvene

KUCHING: Sarawak Patriots Association (SPA) is calling all Sarawakian MPs to push for the Dewan Rakyat to reconvene so that all matters related to the state could be heard and dealt with immediately.

SPA secretary David Hii said this would also include all the necessary debates and amendments to the Federal Constitution to reclaim eroded and lost rights.

He said this was after Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Friday said that state governments should not shut down schools affected by Covid19 on their own without first discussing the matter with the Ministry of Education.

“SPA fully supports the initiative taken by the Sarawak government to order the closure of schools in Covid-19 red zones. This is a time of crisis of an expanding pandemic and we need to take the lead," he said in a statement yesterday.

Hii said it was a worrying trend as the Health Ministry stated that there were 39 clusters with 1,420 cases which involved sub-categories of schools and institutions that were detected from beginning of the year until April 20.

Furthermore, clusters involving educational institutions had doubled during the past week, he added.

Hii said Sarawak has to be treated as an equal partner in line with the true intention and spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“In this regard and in the true spirit of the agreement, the power for education and health autonomy lies with the Sarawak government and this should be returned to Sarawak immediately,” he said.

On April 19, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg announced that all education institutions in Covid19 red zones will be closed for two weeks starting April 20, in view of infections detected in a number of schools.