Cyndi Ling
BINTULU: The proactive and far-sighted decision by the Sarawak government to vaccinate 5,703 educators and caregivers of kindergartens and nurseries as frontliners will add an extra layer of protection.
The president of Advocacy Association of Early Childhood Educators Bintulu (AECE) Cyndi Ling said the vaccination will not only protect the educators but also students and their families.
“Undoubtedly, this brings great comfort to parents and early educators in the community, because it ensures greater safety for parents to send their young children to Taska and Tadika,” she said, using the Bahasa Malaysia words for nursery and kindergarten.
Ling believes the vaccination programme will increase the confidence of all parties involved and ultimately hope for recovery.
She said the decision is wise as private Taska and Tadika operators are struggling to remain operating with higher disinfection and sanitisation upkeep cost and relatively lower number of children coming to the centres.
The AECE Bintulu, she added, hailed the commitment and good initiative of the Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, Sarawak Disaster Management Committee chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, and most importantly the Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg and the state government.
“We are also profoundly grateful to Fatimah and the state government for their hard work to officially launch the Geran Tahunan Khas (GTK),” she said.
According to her, the grant will greatly help registered early childhood education providers financially especially during this pandemic, to pay salaries, provide better educational services and to maintain an environment that is conducive for learning.
“As an affiliate member of the Sarawak Association of Registered Childcare Providers (PPBS), we would like to thank the president of PPBS Ng Lee Boon for working closely with government agencies to advocate the welfare of early childhood educators.”
She said to ensure all are protected throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, AECE Bintulu urged everyone to register for Covid-19 vaccination.
“Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against infectious diseases. When we get vaccinated, we are not only protecting ourselves but also helping to protect the entire community. When we get a high rate of immunity through vaccination, we can protect vulnerable groups in our community that cannot be vaccinated, such as young children or very sick people. This will help save lives and livelihoods,” said Ling.
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