PETALING JAYA: A former deputy minister has cautioned the government against haste in adopting a proposal to allow vaccinated travellers to enter the country without undergoing quarantine.
Dr Lee Boon Chye, who was deputy health minister in the Pakatan Harapan government, said the government should observe the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines in other countries before taking the risk of undoing the work being done to combat the virus.
He was commenting on a suggestion from former prime minister Najib Razak.
Speaking to FMT, Lee said: “The so-called immunity passport is something we should actively explore. However, we need to make sure the vaccines are proven efficacious in preventing infection.
“Hence, we need to evaluate various vaccines from different countries.”
Najib made his suggestion in a recent Facebook post. He urged Putrajaya to give the exemption from quarantine to tourists and those intending to invest or conduct business in Malaysia.
He noted that vaccination against Covid-19 had started in some countries and commented that Malaysia was “a little slow”.
But he added: “I hope Malaysia can become the first country in the world to open its borders without having to quarantine visitors who have been vaccinated and who, therefore, cannot infect or be infected.
“This would be especially from countries where the Covid-19 situation is under control.”
Lee proposed instead that the “immunity passport” be given to those who had recovered from infection.
“The second infection is extremely rare within at least six months or longer,” he said.
He said it was important for the government to curb the surge of cases among immigrants before deciding to open borders to tourists or businessmen.
“The risk of imported Covid-19 cases is higher among undocumented immigrants,” he said. “While we are deciding on whether to open our borders to tourists, we must make sure that the problem of influx of illegal immigrants is stopped.”
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