KUALA LUMPUR: We should learn from the bitter lesson of our neighbour, Singapore, and to take effective measures to prevent the sizeable migrant workers, as well as illegal immigrants in the country, too from becoming a “larger, hidden reservoir” of Covid-19 cases, said Tan Sri T.C Goh, president of The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong).
It has been reported that Singapore has seen a spike in Covid-19 cases recently, mainly driven by an outbreak among foreign workers staying in dormitories.
In his fourth national address on the ongoing crisis, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has noted that, while the number of Covid-19 cases in the community has fallen in recent days, the number of unlinked cases has not come down, suggesting that there is a “larger, hidden reservoir” of cases.
In a statement issued today, Goh also called on the government to beef up land and sea border patrol during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, in order to prevent illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries from smuggling into the country, and inevitably causing the spread of Covid-19.
Recently, a boat with about 250 Rohingya refugees attempted to smuggle into Malaysia via Langkawi but it was intercepted by the police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) upon being alerted by the villagers there.
“The government should pay serious attention to the presence of huge number of migrant workers and illegal immigrants in the country, and to take necessary measures including Covid-19 test, to prevent them from spreading Covid-19 in our community,” urged Goh.
He added that the government through the relevant authorities should tighten control on areas with high concentration of migrant workers, especially those which have been identified as ‘hotspots’ for Covid-19, and to conduct tests on every one of them, so that those who are tested positive can be isolated and treated accordingly.
In this regard, he commended the government for the swift action taken recently to place the Selangor Mansion and Malayan Mansion flats, in Jalan Masjid India here under Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO), after 15 positive cases of Covid-19 were detected there. These two residential flats are known to be predominantly occupied by migrant workers.
“We believe there are many other such residential areas with high concentration of migrant workers which could be of high-risk for Covid-19 transmission that warrant urgent attention from the relevant authorities,” he said.
He also welcomed and supported the government’s move to beef up the surveillance and security of the borders by 50%, in order to prevent illegal immigrants from sneaking into the country through the ‘rat lanes’.
He reckoned that such a move is necessary and crucial towards preventing the spread of Covid-19 from the neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, touching on the now hotly-debated issue of Rohingya refugees, Goh was convinced that the government would exercise great wisdom and discretion in handling the matter, without compromising the interest of the nation and wellbeing of Malaysians, amidst the devastating health and economic crisis.-pr/BNN
