THE Penang government had been offered two million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for free by a donor but their application seeking approval was turned down by the Federal Government. Hence, the contribution did not materialise.
This was revealed by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today as he questioned the Federal Government on why Selangor and Sarawak are allowed to purchase vaccines directly but not the other states.
Chow said he would like Putrajaya to give an immediate clarification on the matter, as well as, on why Putrajaya had not given approval for the state to receive the offer of the two million doses of Sinovac vaccine from a private company in March.
“Can the Federal Government approve this contribution to the people of Penang?” Chow asked when he held a press conference in Komtar today.
“The state government had accepted an offer by a private company which wanted to donate two million doses of vaccine for the use of the people of Penang. Why did the Federal Government reject the offer and deny Penang the opportunity?
“It would have benefited the people of Penang and save the Federal Government money.
“Not long later, they allowed other states to purchase the vaccines. So, this sort of thing makes people very unhappy that the Government is not consistent, maybe show double standards. They must explain why this happened.”
Chow said the offer by the private company still stands, but whether it would be for two million doses or less would depend on the procurement of the vaccine supply.
He said on Feb 15 this year, the Penang State Secretary had sent a letter to the Health Ministry (MOH) seeking approval after receiving the offer from the private company.
But he said the ministry, in a letter dated March 12, said it viewed that the Penang government did not have to consider the offer.
The letter, Chow added, also stated that Federal Government has procured sufficient Covid-19 vaccines to be given to all sections of the Malaysian population equally.
The Federal Government kicked off the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme on Feb 24, targeting 80% of the country’s population or 26.5 million individuals to receive the vaccine for free.
The aim is to achieve a herd immunity to break the chain of infection and ultimately end the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
“We want to help expedite the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme,” Chow said.
The Selangor government has announced that interested employers could now buy Covid-19 vaccine for their workers through the state’s SELangkah application while Sarawak has said it would receive 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine, procured by the state government, within a week.
Chow’s predecessor Lim Guan Eng, who was also present with several state leaders, said he was shocked by what had been revealed by Chow.
“When there is a donor, why is it that this cannot be done? It’s a crime by the Federal Government. Political donation can. Vaccine donation cannot.
“How could this happen? If we have two million doses, how many lives could be saved. It’s not fair. This is something very wrong,” said Lim, who is also the Air Putih assemblyman and Bagan MP.
On another matter, Chow said the state government would try its level best to support the Health Ministry in setting up a field intensive care unit in the compound of Kepala Batas Hospital.
The field ICU, costing slightly over RM2 million, can accommodate 27 intensive care units to help the healthcare system tackle the surge in Covid-19 cases in Penang.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Ahmad Adil Muhamad
Video by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi