Non-Muslim places of worship in Sarawak allowed to reopen from June 20

KUCHING: Non-Muslim places of worship in Sarawak will be allowed to reopen from June 20, says Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that the standard operating procedure (SOP) for these places of worship had been received and approved by the state disaster management committee.

"The detailed SOP will be announced by Unifor (Unit for Other Religions) in one or two days, ” he said at the committee's daily briefing here on Monday (June 15).

This comes after Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced earlier Monday that all non-Muslim places of worship were now allowed to operate at one-third of their usual capacity and by adhering to the SOP.

However, he said it was up to the respective state governments to decide when the places of worship could reopen.

Uggah also said kindergartens in Sarawak would reopen on July 1 in line with the Federal Government's decision on the matter.

He said the SOP for the reopening of kindergartens would be announced by the state Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Ministry on Tuesday (June 16).

In addition, he said business premises which offered 24-hour services were now allowed to operate in compliance with guidelines and SOP.

These include fuel stations, fast-food restaurants and food outlets.

Various activities in the tourism, arts and culture sector are also allowed to resume operations during the recovery movement control order (MCO).

The list of permitted activities and their SOP can be obtained from the state Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry's website at mtac.sarawak.gov.my.

"From time to time, we have announced the reopening of more socioeconomic activities as our Covid-19 curve appears to be flattening.

"It looks like our measures have been effective with cooperation from the public. But we have not won the war. Therefore I appeal to everyone to follow the SOP as closely as possible," Uggah said.

Sarawak reported no new Covid-19 cases on Monday (June 15), with the number of confirmed cases remaining at 557.