A file photo of the Covid-19 vaccination centre at the Stadium Perpaduan, Petra Jaya in Kuching.
KUCHING: An assistant minister’s private secretary has refuted claims that several Association of Wives of Ministers and Assistant Ministers (Sabati) members had received preferential treatment to receive their Covid-19 vaccination at the Stadium Perpaduan here today.
Jilin Itar, who is the private secretary to Assistant Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Datuk Francis Harden Hollis, was responding to the online furor over the incident where images of a Sabati member purportedly cutting the queue at the disabled (OKU) lane have gone viral on social media and online news portals.
The Sabati member in question was Harden’s wife Datin Simba Nalang.
Jilin said Simba was innocent and the matter was sensationalised to disparage the government.
“Datin Simba was called up to receive her compulsory second dose of the vaccine along with other Sabati members. When she arrived at the stadium, a member from the People’s Volunteer Corp (Rela) had escorted her to the designated booth to receive her jab.
“I do not know why she was asked to use the OKU lane but she was a victim of circumstance. I say that because the occurrence was used for the sake of sensationalism. She did not choose the day (to receive the vaccination) and the lane,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted.
He said the incident was also unfair to the other Sabati members present as the episode was used as a political opportunity to make the government of the day look bad.
The incident had sparked outrage among netizens, many of whom had lashed out at the VIPs who jumped queue at the OKU lane.
There were also netizens who commented that since the line at the OKU lane was shorter, this gave VIPs a reason to cut the queue at the expense of those with disabilities.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii was among those who voiced his views on the matter and urged the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and Ministry of Health to probe such allegations and to put a stop to any such action.
Jilin concurred with Yii’s statement as he said this would enable Simba to tell her side of the story and defend herself rather than becoming a victim of circumstance.