KUALA LUMPUR – An Asia Sentinel article alleging the involvement of ministers, doctors and the royal institution in the procurement of unapproved Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines is false, said a friend of one of the medical professionals implicated.
Rafidah Abdullah, in a Facebook post, said certain statements made by the publication’s “foreign journalist” are simply not true.
The article accuses Malaysian Medical Council member Prof Datuk Dr Hanafiah Harunarashid of administering the unapproved vaccine to the king’s family.
Rafidah said Dr Hanafiah has been her friend for “more than half my life”.
She said he suffered a heart attack and underwent an “urgent bypass” recently, and was “certainly” not involved in the matter as claimed.
"Shame on the writer for not checking the proper facts.”
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba told The Vibes earlier that Asia Sentinel’s reporter made false statements, but did not clearly say why the allegations are untrue.
Instead, Dr Adham emphasised that the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines by the government does not involve any “hanky-panky”.
When specific claims were highlighted, including the allegation that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, along with a ministerial entourage, received Sinopharm jabs in the United Arab Emirates and brought home 2,000 doses, the minister replied: “Attacking His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong?”
After The Vibes clarified that the comments were directed at Asia Sentinel, he said: “He should be responsible, not us.”
Dr Adham has yet to confirm whether he was referring to the writer of the article, or the Agong.
The Vibes has also requested an explanation from Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, and is awaiting his response.
Istana Negara has not issued a statement on the matter, but it is understood that palace officials are aware of the write-up, which cited sources.
The king was on an official trip to the UAE from December 18 to 26 last year.
It was reported that the visit concerned the Gulf state’s intention to donate 500,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses for Malaysia’s Phase 3 clinical trials.
The trip took place about a month after Putrajaya announced the procurement of 12.8 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses, via a statement by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on November 27.
The first batch of these vaccines arrived in Malaysia on February 21.
Muhyiddin was the first person in the country to be vaccinated against Covid-19, receiving the jab three days later. – The Vibes, April 18, 2021
