BINTULU MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has criticised Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar over the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases in the past few days, saying that the Health Minister seemed to have an “inseparable relationship” with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine manufacturer.
With the number of new COVID-19 cases soaring past the 10k threshold, Tiong questioned why Khairy is still refusing to allow the public to choose their preferred type of vaccine.
“Many parents and students have complained that they were not allowed to choose the Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccine and were instead given the Pfizer-BionTech vaccine by default,” said the Progressive Democratic Party president.
“This is as if the Health Minister has an “inseparable relationship” with the vaccine manufacturer. If this is not the case, why refuse to offer Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines to the people?
“People should have the right to make their own choices. Is this an effective way to encourage people to get vaccinated?”
Despite the fact that most COVID-19 cases in the country were in Categories 1 and 2, Tiong further alleged that nothing serious has been done in terms of prevention and control efforts which led to the increase in the number of infections.
“The epidemic is becoming more serious across the country so what is Khairy doing about this? Why are there still no plans to implement additional prevention standard operating procedures (SOPs) to mitigate the spread of the virus?”
Tiong went on to say that Khairy’s behaviour was akin to a “captain of a sinking ship” who only asked the people to remain calm when the situation was getting out of hand.
“We see him and Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on television every day and this is as if they only want their presence to be seen without actually disclosing any effective actions to curb the coronavirus,” he remarked.
“Waging a war against COVID-19 isn’t just about relying on social media.
“Instead, the public needs to be informed about the plans and actions to effectively combat the epidemic or else the Government’s plans to reopen borders would be pointless as nobody – including investors – would dare step foot into the country.”
Last month, Tiong had levelled criticism against the Health Minister, claiming that the COVID-19 data on deaths and confirmed cases were being “manipulated by unseen hands”.
He also questioned if Noor Hisham was the best person to lead the charge against the Omicron variant, citing the latter’s refusal to seek advice from China where the pandemic had originated from. – Feb 7, 2022
