Month: June 2021

— Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS) is providing three multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) for the Vaccine-On-The-Go (VOTG) Squad ferrying health workers vaccinating the elderly and disabled at 265 care centres across the state starting today.

Its chief executive officer, Saipolyazan M. Yusop in a statement said this transportation service was the result of cooperation with the State Health Department in support of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme.

“This is LZS’s contribution towards fulfilling the critical need for vaccination among the community.

“More Selangor residents can be vaccinated fast, so that the quicker we can achieve herd immunity in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and return to normalcy,” he added.

According to the statement, the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah graced the launching ceremony and flagging-off of the VOTG Squad at Istana Bukit Kayangan, here, today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The Kelantan Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIK) will take enforcement action against any individual who disobeys or goes against the authority or decree of the Sultan of Kelantan as head of the religion in the state.

MAIK president Tengku Tan Sri Mohamad Rizam Tengku Abdul Aziz said the matter had been consented to by the Sultan of Kelantan Sultan Muhammad V, and enforcement action will be taken for the offence in accordance with Section 121 of the MAIK Enactment 1994.

“Any individual found guilty of the offence shall be imposed a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both,” he said in a statement today.

Tengku Mohamad Rizam, who is also Tengku Temenggong of Kelantan, said the matter was being emphasised there were quarters that still violated the standard operating procedures (SOP) issued by MAIK, especially with regard to religious activities in mosques, surau, musalla, and madrasahs.

He said it was disappointing when new COVID-19 clusters were emerging due to non-compliance with the SOP issued, and MAIK hoped that all parties, especially Muslims, complied with the directives issued.

“Let us stand steadfast together with the confidence and belief that Allah SWT will surely help and accept our prayers and aspirations,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

— The government has targeted over 200,000 individuals to receive their COVID-19 vaccination shots daily beginning July, and over 300,000 individuals daily from August onwards.

National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the steps to achieve the targeted numbers included opening more vaccination centres throughout the country.

“This is one of the reasons that have made me visit several states, including Johor, to ensure the opening of more large-scale vaccination centres, thus increasing the number of vaccinations among the public.

“If we can do this, I am confident we can achieve our target of vaccinating 80 per cent of the population by October,” he said during a media conference after chairing the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) meeting with Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad at Bangunan Dato’ Jaafar here today.

Khairy, who is also Science, Technology and Innovation Minister said along with the addition of large-scale vaccination centres, the government is doing its best to ensure adequate manpower through partnerships with the private sector and seeking assistance from medical professionals like housemen, retired doctors and nurses, as well as medical students.

“Malaysia has finalised the delivery schedule of 25 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines that will be sent in the third quarter of this year, beginning July and throughout August and September. We now have more clarity on the delivery schedule of the Sinovac vaccine and is currently working out the delivery schedule of the AstraZeneca vaccine as there are some changes there,” he said.

Commenting on the CITF meeting today, Khairy said the first industry vaccination centre in the state is expected to open on June 16, specially for workers at the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) complex in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi besides in Mount Austin, Johor Bahru at the end of this month.

“We have also received Johor’s proposal to deploy mobile and drive-through PPVs… If the vaccine supply is not disrupted, we can complete vaccinating three million Johorians by the end of October,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hasni said the state government has suggested several other locations to the federal government to be turned into private vaccination centres besides the AstraZeneca vaccination centre at the Persada Johor International Convention Centre (Persada) to achieve the target of 50,000 vaccination shots daily till October.

This includes setting up private vaccination centres at shopping malls or drive-thru centres at theme parks as well as several private centres in Batu Pahat, Pagoh and Kluang districts, he added.

In addition, Hasni said the state government will not implement mass COVID-19 screening tests and will instead conduct targeted screenings in high-risk areas.

“A total of 20,000 Antigen Rapid Test (RTK-Ag) screening kits will be used for targeted screenings in Johor Bahru following a rise in COVID-19 cases reported in the district,” he said.

The RTK-Ag screening kits received from Singapore through Sultan Ibrahim foundation, he said, would provide results in around five minutes with an accuracy of 98 per cent, to help the early detection of COVID-19 infections in Johor Bahru.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency