By Selangor Journal Team
SHAH ALAM, Aug 23 — The Sultan of Selangor has expressed his concern over the increasing Covid-19 cases and deaths in the country, especially in Selangor, and said that the upsurge was due to negligence in terms of enforcement and compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the Health Ministry (MOH) and the National Security Council (NSC).
Citing the reopening of several economic sectors in May by the Federal government as an example, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj said there was a lack of enforcement by the authorities and complacency of the public in complying with the SOPs.
“For example, when the night and Ramadan bazaars were open, the public had visited the premises and had neglected the need for social distancing and wearing of face masks. The same goes for factory operations where employers had failed to impose stringent SOPs for their workers.
“This act of negligence had caused a third Covid-19 wave that saw a significant increase in Covid-19 cases and deaths,” said His Royal Highness in his royal address during the opening of the First Meeting of the Fourth Session of the 14th Selangor State Legislative Assembly, here, which was also broadcast live on Media Selangor’s Facebook today.
Sultan Sharafuddin said the slow progress in the start of the national vaccination plan had also caused the upsurge in cases in Selangor due to the spread of the coronavirus within the community and the increase in clusters linked to factories.
His Royal Highness said the immunisation programme should have focused on highly populated states and areas with high population density, including the Klang Valley.
“Unfortunately, what’s done cannot be undone. Those who succumbed to Covid-19 cannot be brought back to life. What’s important now is for us to move forward positively and hope the mistakes and negligence will not be repeated,” he added.
“Therefore, I urge the people to be responsible and continue adhering to the SOps in place in helping the government tackle the Covid-19 outbreak.”
The Selangor Ruler had also reminded individuals who are fully vaccinated should not be complacent and feel that they are already immune to the virus.
He had also reminded state representatives to play their part in advising the people to get themselves inoculated against the coronavirus in order to achieve herd immunity.
