PENANG Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has been scheduled to receive the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine this Sunday.
State Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the chief minister had been offered to be the first to receive the vaccine in Penang, and he had accepted the offer.
“As for the state executive council (exco) members, it has not been decided. Nevertheless, I offer myself to be the next to receive, if possible.
“I have registered myself to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
“If the vaccine is proven to be effective, then we have to take the lead so that the rest can follow.
“At the end of the day, we have to move on and win this war against Covid-19.
“This is the next phase after the screening phase. The people can now take the vaccine.
“We hope that there will be continuous information pertaining to the vaccine made available to the public,” Jagdeep told a press conference in Komtar today.
He said that politicians, such as the exco members and state assemblymen, are ‘technically’ frontliners.
“We have to meet the people and we go to the ground,” he added.
He urged the public to continue to obey the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of Covid-19.
It was reported that as of 9pm yesterday, over 600,000 individuals had registered to receive the Covid-19 vaccine through the MySejahtera application.
On a separate matter, Jagdeep said that the Penang government had allocated some RM20.44 million under the Penang People’s Aid Package 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 to assist various categories of traders which are under his portfolio.
The deadline for eligible traders to apply for the Penang People’s Aid Package 3.0 aid is Feb 28. Visit https://elesen.mbpp.gov.my/mppplic/query/info_query.jsp or http://bantuanrm500-covid.mbsp.gov.my/penjajafasa3.php to apply.
At the end of press conference, Jagdeep symbolically presented some 150 hampers to the needy senior citizens and disabled individuals in Datuk Keramat, with the assistance of the Lorong Kulit Traders Association.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi