By Julian Tan
THE Government has announced that the country will receive the first delivery batch of COVID-19 vaccine on Feb 26, and the nationwide vaccination programme will roll out soon after, with frontline health workers among the first to be inoculated.
The availability of the vaccine has been touted as the silver bullet in overcoming the pandemic, which the country has battled through for over a year with limited success, despite promising recovery signs during the early days.
Even with the reimposition of the movement control order (MCO), daily new cases have barely dipped and health authorities appear to be at wit’s end over how to deal with the national health crisis made worse by incompetent policy-makers.
With the vaccines arriving in weeks, Putrajaya seems to have shifted its focus on the vaccination rollout, rather than managing the out-of-control daily infection numbers.
From an economic standpoint, the opening up of borders, which has been closed since March 2020, is a crucial step in reviving an economy that has all but come to a halt. The tourism and travel industries in particular have been badly battered.
The tourism industry is the third-largest contributor to the national gross domestic product (GDP). In 2018, it contributed 15.2% (RM220 bil) and in 2019, 15.9% (RM240 bil).
So far, the Government is short on details on its game-plan post-vaccination, especially with regard to opening its borders.
Other countries are already exploring or finalising the rollout of its “immunity passport”, which allows travellers, local and foreign, to move seamlessly in and out of their countries.
Can Malaysians who have been vaccinated leave the country? Can foreigners who have been inoculated be welcomed back? How do they prove that they have been vaccinated?
Are there any fail-safe mechanisms to ensure nobody tries to beat the system and risk putting our already-fragile healthcare system at even greater risk?
Has the Government commenced negotiations with foreign countries on creating a travel bubble? How does the Government plan to encourage Malaysians to get vaccinated considering the hesitation among the anti-vaxxers who have been actively arguing against the inoculation in online forums?
These are among some of the areas that the Government needs to provide clarity on.
After a year of putting up with travel and business restrictions, there’s now light at the end of the tunnel, with the vaccine’s impending arrival.
Businessmen who have been curtailed from travelling out and into Malaysia are eager to pack their suitcases again after they get vaccinated. Zoom meetings can only do so much.
Foreign investors wanting to bring billions into the country cannot rely only on presentation slides shared during video conference calls to make investment calls.
They need to set foot into the country, make site visits and see for themselves the viability of their proposed investments before deciding whether to part with the money which Malaysia badly needs to revive its economy.
After bungling on our COVID-19 response, we cannot make the same mistake with our post-pandemic recovery. The stakes are just too high and the Government needs to act swiftly or risk losing out to other emerging economies. – Feb 07, 2021
