Solidariti Anak Sarawak (SAS) founder and activist Peter John Jaban said if Covid-19 entered the rural areas, the damage could be “immense” as most of the rural folks had very poor access to healthcare and almost no access to hospital care.

He also raised concern over the recent report about 20 Indonesian oil palm plantation workers in Sri Aman showing early symptoms of the infection.

The migrant workers, who were transferred to a quarantine centre in Kota Samarahan on Wednesday, were from the Sarawak Land Custody and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) plantation at Pakit Undop, Sri Aman.

On Wednesday, state disaster management committee chairman Douglas Uggah Embas said the plantation industries and commodities ministry had agreed to allow plantations to continue operating, provided that the workers complied with standard operating procedures.

Uggah said the Sarawak government would not hesitate to close down any oil palm plantation if Covid-19 cases were detected among workers.

“This not only highlights the ridiculous state of affairs in considering oil palm plantations as an ‘essential service’, but also their utter disregard for national safety in the pursuit of profit,” said Jaban.

Meanwhile, indigenous rights activist Peter Kallang said he agreed with Jaban, saying the rural folks living in the interior parts of the state should be well isolated from the virus.

However, those working at the logging companies and oil palm plantations or mills in the interior would pose a great risk to the rural communities, such as the Penans.

He said the logging companies and oil palm plantations had been allowed to continue with their operations despite the movement control order (MCO).

Speaking to FMT, he said it would be difficult if the virus spread among the rural communities since transportation is a big challenge due to the road conditions.

“Most of these people travel using timber roads, difficult jungle paths or by boat. There is no telephone coverage so it could be challenging during emergency cases.

“The virus can also spread faster since most of these rural folks live in a close-knit community.

“Once a community member is infected with the virus, it could spread very fast as most of them live in a longhouse in close proximity with one another, sharing common verandahs and other amenities,” he said.

As of yesterday, Sarawak had recorded 95 patients who had tested positive for the virus and five deaths since the first one was reported on March 17.

On another matter, Jaban also called on the state government to assist those who live in the rural areas, particularly during the MCO period in the state.

He said he welcomed the Sarawakku Sayang special assistance package worth RM1.15 billion by the chief minister and hoped the state government could further protect the state’s citizens, particularly in the rural areas.

“The impact could be much worse among the rural communities even with their ‘jungle supermarket’.

“You can’t get basic food essentials such as coffee, milk powder, sugar, flour or tea from the ‘jungle supermarket’. The rural communities still need to travel to the nearest town to buy these things,” he told FMT.

In addition, he said those who used to depend on farming are also facing problems since most of them had lost their lands to plantation giants.

“This means that many rural communities are no longer self-sufficient. These people don’t even have Employees Provident Fund savings.

“For those who are stateless, the impact will be even greater. They are not eligible for any aid, despite the fact that they are genuine Sarawak natives,” he said.

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