KUALA LUMPUR – Putrajaya’s obsession about controlling the entire vaccination process from start to finish is to be blamed for the avoidable delays in its procurement and roll-out, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Calling the Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) performance as inexcusable and disturbing, the opposition leader said vaccine procurement mechanisms in the country should have been well-prepared months ago.
Anwar noted how efforts by several state governments, private companies and foundations to procure National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency-approved vaccines – in response to the government’s incompetence – have been met with delays and stonewalling by the ministries involved.
“For example, the Selangor government waited for months to gain necessary approval, despite allocating funds to procure more than two million doses for its people. Sarawak faced similar delays in obtaining government approvals.
“Some private businesses and foundations have informed me that their efforts to procure approved vaccines have been completely ignored by the federal government,” he said in a statement today.
Anwar said the government does not need to be involved in every stage of the vaccination process, noting that states have their own sophisticated procurement networks and abilities, while private companies, too, are prepared to spend – even at premium – to inoculate their own workers and families.
“There are foundations and charitable organisations prepared to support vaccination efforts in local communities. There are hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of Malaysians perfectly willing to pay a few hundred ringgit out of pocket for a vaccination at a private hospital or clinic.
“If we are adopting an all-of-society approach, why can’t we make use of the resources of the entire society?
“If these actors were given the support and approvals they needed quickly, the limited supply that the federal government has at its disposal could be channelled directly to the poor, marginalised and most needy segments. Our vaccination rate could be two or three times the current, abysmally low rate.”
Considering these, Anwar is demanding for an independent investigation under the auspices of Parliament into the causes of the procurement bottlenecks, and for the federal government to immediately and completely support states and private sector efforts to procure vaccines.
Anwar’s statement comes in the wake of public anger over the slow roll-out of vaccines, with only less than 3% of Malaysians currently inoculated.
Various quarters have slammed the government, saying the country’s vaccination process lags behind even those of neighbouring countries.
Khairy Jamaluddin, the coordinating minister for the Covid-19 vaccination programme, had said last week that vaccine supply is expected to be in excess of demand by June – which will expedite the vaccination rate – and that it is projected to surpass 80% of the country’s population by October.
The government had said previously that it expects to inoculate 80% of Malaysians by February 2022. – The Vibes, April 20, 2021
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