KUALA LUMPUR – The Dewan Rakyat concluded debates on amendments to four laws today.
They are the Sales Tax (Amendment) Bill 2020, Service Tax (Amendment) Bill 2020, Temporary Measures for Government Financing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2020, and Tourism Tax (Amendment) Bill 2020.
These saw a smooth passage to the next stage via voice votes.
Lim Guan Eng (PH-Bagan) asked Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin about concerns related to the Covid-19 vaccine.
In his response, the minister said the government has received data from Pfizer, allowing it to analyse the safety and efficacy of the pharmaceutical giant’s Covid-19 vaccine.
He lauded the idea of getting MPs to test the vaccine first, saying the suggestion will be considered by Putrajaya.
On the issue of Penang’s iconic ferries, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the service will continue, with RM30 million allocated by the previous Pakatan Harapan government to be released to Penang Port Sdn Bhd in two tranches next year.
Speaking about the government’s approach to imposing movement curbs against Covid-19, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Affairs) Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof said among the many factors taken into consideration are the increasing rate of infections in a locality, the distribution of positive cases in an area, the population density, the number of public places in an area, and social demographics.
“The government also takes into account the costs of imposing the movement control order and the availability of human resources.
“From a public health point of view, we would also determine the readiness of facilities like labs, hospitals, clinics, personal protective equipment, sanitisation operations, screenings, and the capacity of quarantine centres.” – The Vibes, December 17, 2020
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