PETALING JAYA: DAP has urged the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government not to hold a snap election until at least 70% of the population has been vaccinated and herd immunity is achieved.
Yesterday, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii, Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming and Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim attended a meeting with science, technology and innovation minister Khairy Jamaluddin, where they stated their support for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
But they also urged Khairy to advise Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin against calling for snap polls until 70% of the population is vaccinated, saying the people’s health and economic well-being must be prioritised over politics.
“To call for a general election before herd immunity is achieved is a huge public health risk, as we saw from the Sabah state election,” they said in a joint statement today.
Previously, Khairy reportedly said the 15th general election could be held in the final quarter of 2021 after half of Malaysia’s population has been vaccinated.
He had said it was “not impossible” for the polls to be held some time this year, telling Channel News Asia in an interview it could happen as early as September.
While the DAP leaders welcomed the minister’s pledge to probe claims of vaccine queue-jumping, they were also concerned over the health ministry warning its staff from commenting or posting about the vaccination programme on social media.
They said whistleblowers raising claims of queue-jumping should be adequately protected from any disciplinary action.
“While sharing pictures of vaccine-takers without their consent might not have been the right thing to do, one should acknowledge the pressure that frontliners have been going through and not take a punitive approach towards these slip-ups.
“All reports of queue jumpers must be investigated transparently and those proven to have ‘cut-queue’ should be exposed in public and the necessary action be taken against them,” they said.
The DAP leaders urged Putrajaya to specify the vulnerable groups categorised for phase two of the programme, especially since it is slated to start in April.
They also said general practitioners and private dentists should be under phase one of vaccinations, since they were often in contact with patients with symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) and Influenza-Like Illness (ILI).
“DAP will give our full cooperation, including mobilising our elected representatives, to help share important and accurate information on the benefits of the programme and to counter misleading information about the vaccines.
“Given the need for a bipartisan approach to fight this pandemic, we hope that the federal government will include all MPs and assemblymen in a more direct and institutionalised manner to ensure the successful rollout of the immunisation programme.
“We ask for the provision of adequate resources as well as access to data so that we can play our part effectively in the programme’s rollout,” they said.- FMT