BETONG, Dec 18 — Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah today said that the state government is still awaiting directives from the Ministry of Health (MoH) on actions to be taken amidst the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the country,

He admitted that the number of Covid-19 cases including in Sarawak is very worrying.

"But we have to wait for the directives including if we need to organise the third vaccination," he told reporters after attending a function held at Rumah Layang longhouse in Nanga Lop, Debak.

Uggah, who is also the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman urged people to continue to take care of themselves, such as wearing face masks in crowded places, always washing hands, and consulting doctors if they develop fever, coughing, and sore throat.

Earlier at the longhouse, Uggah urged the Jubilee Occupation Ticket (JOT) land title holders to agree to the exercise to convert their land into Native Customary Rights (NCR) land.

The JOT is a pre-Sarawak Land Code land title issued by the colonial government to those who agreed to plant rubber trees.

Uggah said for every one acre or 200 rubber trees planted, a JOT would be issued by the colonial government and this was prevalent in Sri Aman and Betong Divisions then.

He said upon the expiry of its tenure, such land would be considered state land.

"But Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg has been very sympathetic to the owners of such land,” he said, adding that the premier has consented for such land status to be changed into NCR land through an exercise handled by the Land and Survey Department.

He urged JOT landowners to approach the Land and Survey Department for assistance and the necessary action.

On another issue, he said the government had agreed to allocate a sum of RM30 million to upgrade the Ulu Rimbas Road in Debak.

He said the road is about 22 kilometers long and the upgrading will benefit about 2,000 oil palm, rice, and rubber farmers from 20 longhouses.