Kota Kinabalu: The State Government on Wednesday decided to allow the Sabah Ammonia Urea (Samur) plant in Sipitang and Sabah Oil and Gas Industrial Terminal (SOGT) in Kimanis to resume operations, beginning today (Thursday).
Announcing this in a press conference, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said he received an application from Petronas for the plants to resume operations and the decision was made at a State Cabinet meeting.
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“Offshore operations can also be resumed. However, we have informed Petronas that all employees need to undergo proper screening to ensure their safety and health,” he told reporters after medical experts from China paid a courtesy call on him at Sabah State Administrative Centre, here.
Shafie also said Sabah was adopting an approach of working with the private sector to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Working with the private sector is indeed very important to us and I will disclose further soon on steps to be taken to overcome the economic problem in the State,” he said.
With all three red zones in Sabah reduced to yellow zones, based on active Covid-19 cases, Shafie said the Government will look into sectors which can be reopened in phases.
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“The Government will look into sector by sector…as I mentioned, it is important for us to work with the private sector.
“We do not want them to suffer, but at the same time the health of the people is very important.
“Food security, as I have indicated earlier, is our top priority.”
On the meeting with the eight medical experts from China, Shafie said he was grateful for their visit.
“The knowledge and experience that they have shared with us is valuable as it can help the State to not only overcome the problem we are currently facing, but also to position ourselves in future.
“I am sure it is not going to be easy for us to go back to the ‘normal’ kind of environment, but I am determined that if we work closely together, we can overcome any problem in future.
“Their visit has inspired and enlightened us, and I have a lot of questions to ask but we have limited time,” he said, adding the State Government will continue to work closely with the experts.
On the students returning to Sabah, the State Government has asked the federal Higher Learning Ministry to arrange for tests to be done on them.
“There are more than 7,000 students coming home to Sabah and there are only 24 quarantine centres in the State with the biggest being Likas Sports Complex…even that can’t accommodate 7,000 persons.
“As such, I have asked Education and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob to contact the federal Higher Learning Ministry for tests to be done before they are allowed to be in Sabah.
“If proven negative and they do not show any symptoms, they still need to be home-quarantined upon arriving in the State.”
He also said the State Government will bear the travel expenses of students returning from Sarawak, while the Higher Learning Ministry will bear those returning from the peninsula.
After the meeting, Shafie also received aid presented by the medical expert team, KTS Group and Malaysian Relief Agency (MRA).
Also present were China’s Kota Kinabalu Consul-General Liang Caide, Deputy Health Minister II Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang, and State Cabinet Ministers.
