DUTCH Lady Milk Industries Bhd (DLMI) hails the Government’s move to fast-track and prioritise vaccination of workers – local and foreign – working in essential industries that are operating during movement control order (MCO) 3.0.
The National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s remarks about the prioritisation of vaccinating essential people working in the industries operational during MCO 3.0 are greatly welcomed to help the country flatten the curve as soon as possible and more importantly, to rebuild the economy and the nation.
Like all concerned Malaysian companies, we are fully behind the Government on the need to boost vaccination and expedite the process to achieve herd immunity as soon as possible.
Based on Government statistics, there are deep concerns about the high number of clusters breaking out in the manufacturing and construction sectors. According the Health Ministry’s data, the manufacturing sector (not limited to essential services only) registered 48% of COVID-19 clusters between Feb 22 and April 2 alone.
With the Selangor state government ramping up testing and consequently seeing a higher number of COVID-19 cases, the solution lies with speeding up vaccinations in Selangor.
DLMI’s workforce in Selangor makes up a critical component of the national milk supply chain; any large outbreak of COVID-19 on site could severely disrupt the manufacturing, distribution and availability of dairy products to Malaysians nationwide.
With the Federal Government’s firm stance on targeting vaccination drives for workers in the essential sectors which would give businesses confidence and peace of mind, DLMI hopes to continue playing an effective role in nourishing the nation with high-quality dairy products.
DLMI is also the largest purchaser of local fresh milk which also plays a critical role in developing a sustainable local dairy farming industry to help the nation achieve self-sufficiency in domestic milk production in the near future.
Last year, DLMI committed RM400 mil to build new manufacturing facilities in Bandar Enstek, Negeri Sembilan to produce a wide range of nutritional products to continue nourishing Malaysians for decades to come. – June 8, 2021
Tarang Gupta is Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd’s managing director.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
