KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called on the government to properly address the country’s Covid-19 vaccination programme and provide transparency to the people.
Addressing the extension of the movement control order, the opposition leader, in a Facebook Live session today, said new coronavirus cases, which breached 5,000 in recent days, are at an alarming level.
“When there are that many new infections, and this is becoming the norm, 5,000 infections for instance, will affect 5,000 families or more. The effects spill over into all layers of society.
“Hence, the government must pay attention to what we (the opposition) have been calling for over the past year.”
The Port Dickson MP urged Putrajaya to expand virus screening with a focus on populations living near current clusters, such as factories and crowded places.
“It is a worrying fact that neighbouring countries, such as Singapore and Indonesia, have been able to implement a successful vaccine strategy, but we remain behind.”
Plans to vaccinate the entire population in stages must be announced in a clear and concise manner, he said.
“The government should not just announce February 27 as the date for the arrival of the vaccine. Who will be the first recipients? How many doses? The total cost, details of the contract, and recipient of the awarded tender?
“Unfortunately, under the current emergency measures, the government might not announce this, because the decisions are probably made without any tender process,” he said, adding this triggers serious issues involving government practices and governance.
Citing Malaysia’s drop of six places on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index to 57th spot last year, Anwar said it is due to the government’s poor management.
His remarks come after Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin yesterday gave an assurance that the delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to Malaysia remains on course for the first quarter, despite the export controls put in place by the European Union.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Pfizer-BioNTech jab will arrive on February 26, with priority to be given to health frontliners and high-risk groups. – The Vibes, February 3, 2021
