Chong Chieng Jen
KUCHING (Aug 16): The Sarawak government should be truthful and open to the public on the status of the African Swine Fever (ASF) control measures, said Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
He said the disease was actually out of control, despite repeated claims by the state government that the ASF was under control.
He said this following several cases of ASF reported all over the state — from when it was first discovered in Kapit, Limbang and Miri divisions in July last year to the report of the disease spreading in pig farms in Serian this month.
“In July last year, the ASF disease was first discovered in the Limbang, Kapit and Miri divisions. The state government claimed that it was under control and that the disease will be contained in the affected area. In January this year, the ASF disease was found in Sibu. Again, the state government claimed that it was under control.
“In April 2022, Serian and Sri Aman divisions were officially declared as ASF disease control areas – and in May this year the state Minister for Modernisation of Agriculture and Regional Development Dato Sri Dr (Stephen) Rundi announced that the spread of the ASF was under control in Sarawak and that Kuching, Serian and Samarahan were still free of the ASF disease.
“In August 2022, the ASF disease was reported to have been found in Serian pig farms.
“From this sequence of events, it is obvious that the ASF disease has infected almost all areas in Sarawak, contrary to the claims by the Sarawak government that it is all under control,” he said in a statement.
In light of the far-reaching effects and impacts of the ASF, Chong had outlined several suggestions so that the state government could take immediate action to resolve this issue.
He proposed that the state government give reasonable compensation to the pig farmers for the number of pigs that died or were culled as a result of the ASF and also to those whose livelihood was severely affected by the spread of the disease. As of May 2022, the state government announced that officially more than 15,000 pigs had been culled – which is a huge economic loss to the pig farmers, he said.
Aside from that, he said the state government should engage all the stakeholders, including the pig farmers, feed suppliers and the pork vendors to formulate plans to resolve the problem.
Chong also proposed for the state government to conduct an independent investigation and enquiry into the spread of the ASF, to find out the extent of and true cause for the spread and the reason why despite all the ‘control orders’, the ASF still spread from north to south of Sarawak and thereafter to make public the report on the investigation and enquiry.
The state government must be forthcoming, truthful and open to the people on the effects of the ASF virus on human and create awareness amongst the people based on true science and medical data, and to reassure the public that it is safe to consume pork in the markets, he added.
“It is to be noted that the state government only officially announced that the ASF disease had spread to Serian in August after some WhatsApp messages went viral on social media. Didn’t the state government know that the ASF disease had spread to Serian days before the WhatsApp messages went viral? Why was the government not forthcoming with this fact?
“If the government keeps trying to suppress information, it will only fuel public anxiety and suspicion. The key to instil public confidence in government institutions is transparency and accountability. Therefore, I urge the state government to quickly implement the aforementioned suggestions.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3zW47nW
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