TO assist individuals from various groups, such as the senior citizens, disabled people and single mothers, to get to the Covid-19 vaccination centres (PPVs), assemblymen from various constituencies, both on the island as well as the mainland, have formed their team of volunteers to transport them.
Buletin Mutiara team contacted several of the assemblymen today to know more about their programmes and get updates on the volunteer work that they are doing together with their team.
Below are their thoughts:
Ong Ah Teong, Batu Lancang assemblyman
“So far we have helped to send 154 senior citizens to various PPVs. There are seven volunteers in charge of this programme.
“As for the latest walk-in PPV set up at the SPICE Convention Centre, our team is ready to assist those individuals who wish to get there.
“The criteria for this service remain the same: senior citizens who are single, without children and without transportation can contact us. We are more than willing to help them.
“My request to children who have elderly parents is to accompany them to the vaccination centres. Do your duty as a responsible son or daughter.”
Lim Siew Khim, Sungai Pinang assemblyman
“Since June 18, our volunteers have been involved in helping the senior citizens to get to the PPVs. Now with the new walk-in PPV at Setia SPICE, we will be making arrangements to fully utilise vehicles that we use to transport them.
“Currently, we are using a van as well as a community ambulance (Sungai Ara Community Ambulance Service) for those who are bedridden and need professional care.
“We are bearing the cost for the ambulance service, but if the children can afford it, then they will pay for it.
“For the walk-in PPV, we are planning to start our service from this Sunday onwards, and we will have two trips per day.
“Since we must follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs), we can only accommodate seven people per trip.
“So, far we have received 10 people requesting help to get to the walk-in PPV. To date, we have helped more than 150 senior citizens to get to other PPVs.”
Jason H’ng Mooi Lye, Jawi assemblyman
“Until today, we have assisted five senior citizens by providing free transport service for them to the Covid-19 vaccination centre (PPVs).
“The number is small because the two PPVs, namely Dewan Serbaguna Jawi and Dewan Serbaguna Sungai Bakap, are located very nearby within the housing areas.
“So, most of them can go by themselves, or they have family members to send them to the PPV centres.
“But still, we are ready anytime if they need our help with the transportation.
“We have one vehicle ready for that purpose, but they need to call our service centre for booking a day before.
“If suddenly there are more requests, I will add more vehicles to send them.
“What matters now is that I want all of them to be vaccinated as soon as possible since they fall under the high-risk group.”
Goh Choon Aik, Bukit Tambun assemblyman
“For now, we have already stopped providing the free transport service for senior citizens.
“But on Aug 15, we will bring about 300 people who include senior citizens, single mothers and disabled people (OKU) to the PPV at Balai Raya Bukit Tambun.
“This PPV is part of the mobile vaccination units (MVU) programme by the state government. It is a one-day programme that will start from 9.30am until 2.30pm.
“The objective of this programme is to enable those living in rural or out-of-town areas to receive their vaccination easier.
“We will use five vehicles for that purpose with some help from the Village Community Management Council (MPKK) at the nearby area.”
Satees Muniandy, Bagan Dalam assemblyman
“As of yesterday, my service centre has assisted 52 senior citizens by providing free transport service for them to the PPVs.
“We only use a car for that purpose but if we receive more requests, then we will use a van.
“We also help senior citizens who want to walk in to the PPV. They just need to call our service centre and we will arrange the transportation for them.”
A.Kumaresan, Batu Uban assemblyman
A. Kumaresan, Batu Uban assemblyman
“So far, my team of eight volunteers has made about 30 trips to the PPVs to help the senior citizens.
“For those who need help, please do not hesitate to contact my service centre at 04-668 1062 or our hotline (017-277 0388 ). My hope is to see more people get vaccinated to curb the pandemic.
“If anyone does not know how to go about with the registration for vaccination, please do not hesitate to walk into our service centre. We will help them.
“Our centre is open from Monday till Friday from 10am to 5pm. Those who have registered since February and have yet to receive their appointment, they can also call us at our hotline.
“I would like urge all the residents in the Batu Uban neighbourhood to always follow the SOPs and take care of their personal hygiene.
“If they have any symptoms, they must immediately seek medical assistance. They must not take things lightly.”
Story by Riadz Akmal & Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis & Courtesy of State assemblymen’s office