WITH Malaysia still recording four-digit daily COVID-19 infections, the need to vaccinate as many people in the shortest time possible has never been more crucial.
But while the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) is making every effort to ramp up the administration of vaccines, it faces a major setback: naysayers who are spreading unsubstantiated, misleading and false information about the COVID-19 vaccines to discourage people from getting vaccinated.
The threat of these individuals – better known as anti-vaxxers – to the success of the country’s fight against the pandemic has recently pushed the Government to mull taking legal action against those who are found to have incited public opinion against the NIP.
Legal action is, at this point, the best course of action. Even better, there is no need for the Government to draft new laws against anti-vaxxers because we already have them by the chock full.
Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan previously suggested using the Sedition Act 1948 or the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to deal with anti-vaxxers.
Perhaps another way would be to enact certain regulations under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1908 to deal with anti-vaccine misinformation.
Hauling anti-vaxxers to court and charging them is also killing two birds with one stone: on one hand, you’ll be punishing them for spreading anti-vaccine messages, and on the other, you’ll be putting a stop to the spread of anti-vaccine conspiracies that are dangerous to public health.
While many would be quick to argue against any sort of punishment for those who spread fake news – it is, after all, an individual’s right to free speech – perhaps it is also important to note that we have reached a stage where the pandemic, after more than a year, is still showing no signs of abating, and this justifies the law stepping in.
But if the Government is serious about taking legal action against anti-vaxxers, they should make it clear from the get-go that nobody would be exempted, and that there would be no double standard nor hanky-panky involved.
Taking an ‘all talk and no action’ approach would only egg on the anti-vaxxers, and it would be like adding fuel to an already-raging inferno.
But of course, more important than penal sanctions is the need for better awareness. In this case, various public awareness campaigns are already ongoing, all of them highlighting the dangers of COVID-19 while encouraging Malaysians to register for vaccination. While they are doing a good job, all efforts must be ramped up in order to increase outreach.
At the end of the day, however way the Government chooses to deal with the anti-vaxxers, they must do it at once. The situation with anti-vaxxers is a threat to the country’s aim to achieve herd mentality by year end, and must be resolved, once and for all. – June 18, 2021
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