KOTA KINABALU: Sabah must be allowed to purchase the Covid-19 vaccine so that the government can speed up vaccination in the state, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
He lamented that the national vaccination program in Sabah is slow and by allowing the state to purchase the vaccine from Pharmaniaga, more people in the state can be vaccinated.
“As the Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah, I agree with the government’s decision to implement the MCO for the safety and health of people in the state. However the MCO is meaningless if there are no strategic measures taken to allay doubts people may have on the actions taken by the government,” he said.
He pointed out that the national vaccination progran is ongoing but in the context of Sabah, only 130,000 from its 3.89 million population have been vaccinated.
This means that the state cannot achieve herd immunity and many of the rakyat in Sabah are still exposed to the Covid-19 virus.
“Therefore I urge the federal government to supply vaccine for us through Pharmaniaga which is among the companies appointed to supply the vaccine to the private sector.
The supply is there as Pharmaniaga has produced about eight million doses, he said, adding that the state appointed Warisan Harta to apply for 300,000 doses to sold to private clinics in the state.
Bung Moktar also lamented about the rigidness of the national vaccination program and cited for example countries like United States, China, Thailand as well as in Europe which have made the vaccine readily available for their people.
The mission is to vaccinate as many as possible but in Sabah only 130,000 are innoculated. The process is very rigid … there is the MySejahtera application but it is not fully functional, he stressed.
“In my calculation, I think maybe only 40,000 to 50,000 Malaysians are vaccinated every day and if this continues, it will take years to vaccinate 80 per cent of our 25 million populaton in order to achieve the desired herd immunity the government is aiming for.
“The virus is already in the community making the situation worrying coupled with the emergence of new variants of the virus. This is why I am stressing to the federal government, especially the minister in charge to understand the situation in Sabah.
“We need the vaccine from Pharmaniaga, so allow Pharmaniaga to sell the vaccine to the state government. Sarawak is the first state to complete the vaccination program for its rakyat but we in Sabah only more than 130,000 vaccinated.
“Can you imagine if the new variants attack Sabahans, what with the lack of hospitals and overworked frontliners … what can we do,” an emotional Bung Moktar said.
The Works Minister told reporters that the best way to acheive herd immunity is to allow the vaccination program to run concurrently between the state government and private sector.
According to Bung Moktar, GLCs and the private sector have asked him how to get their staff vaccinated as they are worried about their safety too.
“I told them we need to ask the Federal government why it still has not allowed the private sector to carry out vaccination. Many leaders speak about the vaccine but it is all empty talk (as) they do not consider the rakyat in Sabah who need the vaccine.
“It can be obtained through the private sector so that GLCs and corporate companies can purchase the vaccine. Why is Sabah denied its rights? We have the right to demand for the vaccine … we can pay for it, we are not asking it for free,” he said, adding, “I hope the relevant ministries hear the voices of the people in Sabah.
Pharmaniaga has produced eight million doses to be sold to the public so why not sell the vaccines to the states because they want to see that their rakyat are protected and safe, he reiterated.
He also said that as the objective is to innoculate all people residing in the country, including foreigners, the government must include transient migrants too because if they are not vaccinated, everyone will still be at risk of getting infected with the Covid-19 virus.