KUALA LUMPUR – The government’s stand in taking action against those who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 is not to persecute them but to prevent greater harm, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
“As stated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the government is not trying to discriminate against or targeting any party, but in our efforts to combat the pandemic, it is important for the government not to allow the situation to worsen.
“So, what the government is doing is meant to protect the lives of the people so that they can protect the lives of others,” he told a special media conference at Wisma Pertahanan here today.
He said while anti-vaxxers are free to maintain their stand, they should not expect to receive the kind of flexibilities given to those who have been vaccinated.
Yesterday, Ismail Sabri was reported to have said the government had no intention of causing hardship to any party by placing various regulations in its fight against the pandemic, instead, those who do not take the vaccines are only making life difficult for themselves as they cannot enjoy the facilities afforded to those who are fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Hishammuddin said the implementation of the Gold 2021 joint military exercise, which began on October 8 and ended today, received positive feedback from participants from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
The exercise was held in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) and Malaysia played host.
It involved more than 2,000 army personnel from the participating countries.
Hishammuddin said he had also held a video conference with Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana today to discuss measures to strengthen Malaysia-Philippines defence collaboration.
“Other matters discussed included efforts to ensure regional peace under the International Monitoring Team (IMT) in Mindanao, southern Philippines.
“Apart from that, the government also agreed to hold ministerial-level meetings between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to further strengthen the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangements (TCA) initiative.” – Bernama, October 18, 2021
