[Highlights] Special Parliamentary Sitting 28 July (National Vaccination Programme)

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Today is the third day of the Dewan Rakyat special meeting for the third session of the 14th Parliament.

In this session Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin will address the lower house on the vaccination programme under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (JKJAV).

The last time Malaysia’s Parliament met was on 17 December 2020. A month later, in January of 2021, a State of Emergency was declared.

10:02 am – Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon kick starts Parliament with a prayer and announcing that Khairy will brief the Parliament today on the national vaccine drive.

10:04 am – Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) asked the Deputy Speaker whether they can debate on issues such as the Emergency and the doctor’s strike.

10:18 am – Rembau MP, Khairy starts by talking about the history of the JKJAV and their responsibilities.

10:27 am – Khairy said that vaccines which are brought here will require a local product registration holder to submit an analysis of additional data to be evaluated by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

10:41 am – The Rembau MP said the target to vaccinate a large portion the public has been changed to October after the surge in Covid-19 infections instead of February of next year.

10:43 am – KJ said that to make this happen, by August, at least 40% of the adult population in all states needs to be vaccinated. He also mentioned that the government had to deploy various methods to diversify the registration process – besides MySejahtera – to reach out to the public.

10:48 am – He mentioned that some states have a low registration rate compared to the others but acknowledges that it might be attributed to problems like infrastructure and logistics.

10:49 am – He said the Health Ministry has assigned Protect Health as the administrator for private institutions and non-profit organisations under PICK.

10:55 am – KJ mentions that in total, 26.38 million vaccine doses have been secured – by government purchases and also donations from other countries such as Japan, the United States and China.

11:00 am – He said we started to get more vaccines in June and will be getting more vaccines in the coming months, adding that 2.89 m (93%) elderly, 60 and above, registered have received at least 1 dose while the OKU (289,238) and comorbid (6.32 million) have received 1 dose of vaccine or have an appointment.

11:01 am – 169,000 vaccine doses have been administered in June and 370,000 in July – an increase of 124%.

11:04 am – He cited Our World in Data, which says that Malaysia has one of the fastest vaccination rates in the world – faster than countries such as Japan and South Korea.

11:06 am – He mentioned that hospitalisation rates and cases reported have decreased dramatically after a large of portion of the Labuan adult population has been vaccinated.

11:07 am – KJ has commended Bangi MP Dr Ong Kian Ming for helping out with the vaccine drive on the state level.

10:09 am – He said that mobile vaccine stations have also been deployed to reach out to those in rural areas, which Khairy mentions have a large percentage of elderly people.

11:10 am – Even hawkers and small businesses are not left out as KJ said they are vaccinated as well.

10:11 am – KJ mentions that women who are pregnant between 14 – 33 weeks and students that will study abroad will be prioritised for vaccination.

11:12 am – KJ said travel bubbles such as to Langkawi have been discussed to help with the local tourism industry.

11:13 am – The government has allocated RM5.8 billion – RM4.8 billion to the Health Ministry and RM1 billion to MOSTI. KJ said PAC has done proceedings twice, checking the books to make sure that no money is wasted.

11:18 am – the MOSTI Minister ends his speech.

11:19 am – Datuk Sri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (Kulim Bandar Baru – PH) mentions that there’s a gap in supply and demand pointing out that Malaysian’s vaccination plans is affected by shortage of supply and delays in delivery.

11:26 am – Pontian (Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan) asks what kind of actions are to be taken against anti-vaxxers and also what are the actions to be taken on those who have not registered for a jab due to certain restrictions.

11:27 am – Kulim Bandar Baru agrees with Pontian saying that there’s a gap in technology for low registration rates in some areas in the country and action such as going on-ground to vaccinate should be taken to make it easier for them to get vaccinated.

11:30 am – Kulim said that the Emergency is not a way to curb the spread of Covid-19 and cited the data and says that the research doesn’t point that the Emergency helps.

11:32 am – Tuaran (Datuk Sri Wilfred Madius Tangau – UPKO) chimed in saying that if the emergency is a cure, why was the national recovery plan made before the pandemic and asked Kulim if the Emergency was meant for other things other than Covid-19.

11:34 am – Kulim said that we’re a consumer country and not a vaccine producer and questions why Malaysia hasn’t procured the vaccines earlier. He also said that the NPRA is late to study on vaccines while other countries have already procured vaccines. By these factors, he said it’s bottlenecking vaccines from coming in.

11:42 am – Sungai Buloh has said that we’ve lost three months of vaccine progress because the government didn’t implement a “whole of society” approach like the United States. However, he commended JKJAV for picking up the pace in the later months.

11:45 am – He also asks that why the government has not utilised public clinics earlier which might have enabled 500,000 vaccinations in a day sooner.

11:46 am – Kulim said that the paperwork and logistics such as photocopy machines, coolants have been some of the shortcomings that frontliners have to deal with and asked if the government can make the job easier of health workers.

11:53 am – Jelutong (Sanisvara Nethaji Rayer Rajaji – DAP) asked about vaccinating teachers because there’s plans to open schools in September and educators are worried as many are not vaccinated now.

11:58 am – Kota Belud suggests that a special fund to be given directly to institutions in rural areas to make it easier to purchase things like tents for the vaccination drive.

12:06 pm – Port Dickson wants Rembau to reveal the costs involved to run PPVs to make sure that the money is not misused.

12:08 pm – Muar (Syed Saddiq – Bebas) asks what kind of improvements the government can do in the future.

12:09 pm – Kota Belud questions why are frontliners being intimidated although there was assurance from the Health Minister that they won’t be harassed.

12:13 pm – Ipoh Barat (M. Kulasegaran – DAP) said that there are 3 million to 4 million undocumented workers, stateless people in Malaysia and asks when will they be vaccinated. He also questioned that there are allegations saying that vaccine prices have been fluctuated and asks Rembau to respond.

12:16 pm – Teluk Intan (Nga Kor Ming – DAP) asks what the government will do to achieve herd immunity by October, is it by making the vaccine mandatory or barring unvaccinated people access to certain areas.

12:20 pm – Hang Tuah Jaya (Mohamed Hanipa Maidin – PH) asks the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to extend the Parliament session to debate on the issues considering that it has been more than 200 days since they last convened.

12:23 pm – The Speaker said that the time has been set to allow for all the MPs to debate but the time has fixed to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmissions. He also mentioned that 4 infections have been detected in the past few days but it’s up to the Minister’s discretion to extend the Parliament.

12:28 pm – Kinabatangan said that previously Sabah has been struggling due to lack of supply but it has picked up pace in the subsequent months. He also hopes that the government will continue and bulk up the supply of vaccines into the state.

12:29 pm – He also asked that single-shot vaccines be distributed to Sabah and that vaccines be made mandatory besides urging the government to buy more vaccines like Singapore.

12:33 pm – Batu Kawan (Kasthuriraani Patto – PH) chimed in asking about the registration process to which Kinabatangan agrees that there’s inconsistency in registrations.

12:37 pm – Sepanggar (Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman – Warisan) laments Sabahans who lost their loved ones due to Covid-19 due to the mismanagement between the Ministries and said that the government has been lacking in the fight against the virus.

12:40 pm – Despite having the vaccine for a few months in Sabah, he said that only 300,000 people who have been fully vaccinated which makes Sabahans feel that they’ve been left behind. He also asked when will the 3 million vaccines be distributed.

12:44 pm – He also asked about the efficacy rates of the vaccines that will be deployed and whether the vaccine is good for Sabahans.

12:45 pm – He also questioned why a local bamboo producer has been picked as the company to distribute vaccines in Sabah.

12:48 pm – Sepanggar wants to know why the “vaccine first, register later” method is not used nationwide and added why Sabahans who’ve registered didn’t receive even a single dose.

12:50 pm – Tanjong Karang (Tan Sri Noh Haji Omar – Umno) asks why state governments and public institutions can’t purchase vaccines. He added that PharmaNiaga has 3.2 million vaccines in stockpile, so why can’t they purchase it.

12:55 pm – He said why can’t these vaccines to be sold straight to factories and asked why the Selangor state government and Federal government can’t work together.

12:59 pm – Klang also chimed in asking if the Federal government will add more PPVs in Klang considering that it’s a concentrated area and when Form 5 students will receive vaccines.

1:01 pm – Tanjong Karang also asked Parliament why authorities are allowed to enter Parliament, saying that they have immunity and why is it that other people can come into the area.

1:02 pm – Dewan Rakyat Speaker says that they’re only immune to what is being said in the Dewan but MPs still have to abide by SOPs to set a good example for the public.

2:30 pm – Bangi (Dr Ong Kian Ming – DAP) has been given an extension of seven minutes by the Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon.

Dr Ong said that there should be a bi-partisanship between the government and opposition, saying that they should work together to win in the fight against Covid-19.

He said that registrations in Klang Valley have been increasing exponentially after walk-ins have been made available to the public and said that it should be extended in other areas and states.

Bangi also raised another issue which he said is an open secret, that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has lost the majority and should be replaced but ends his turn by saying that the government should set aside their differences and team up.

2:43 pm – Sik (Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman – PAS) says that Muhyiddin has the majority, which caused an uproar from the opposition bench, demanding that a vote is taken to determine whether it’s true.

2:46 pm – Jelutong (Sanisvara Nethaji Rayer Rajaji – DAP) said that Sik’s statement is misleading, and added, if it’s true that Muhyiddin still has the majority, then call for a vote.

2:49 pm – Johor Bahru (Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir – PKR) said the lockdown and MCO measures have failed and said that the measures that the government has been doing in confusing and also calls for accountability.

He also asks how the vaccines are distributed because it looks like some constituents have more attention than others, saying that Johor Bahru is an important city, considering that it’s situated to Singapore.

He also asked the Deputy Speaker to reveal MPs who chose not to get vaccinated because of their religious beliefs.

3:01 pm – Sibuti (Lukanisman Awang Sauni – PBB) gave his thanks to the government saying that more than 80% of Sarawakians have received their first dose and almost 60% of the population has received their second dose.

He also asked what is next for those who have completed their vaccinations.

Lukanisman said that the “vaccinate first, register first” method should be implemented in places like Sabah instead of relying solely on MySejahtera.

He also wants research on the efficacy of vaccines on Sarawak to be done, considering the state’s high vaccination rate.

3:08 pm – Bakri (Yeo Bee Yin – DAP) asked why do the state government and the private sector have to pay for vaccines even though RM5 billion has been spent for PICK.

She also asked which agencies, Ministries will handle the purchases and how will these funds be used.

Yeo also asked why state governments are required to take the responsibility of vaccinating the public.

Touching on PPVs, she asked the government how do they determine where to set up the centres and information on these mega PPVs (costs, whether they’re politically connected etc).

Bakri suggested testing on PPV staff on a weekly basis and proper ventilation.

She also asked why Malaysia has been slow in getting the vaccine and why did the government only allow 3 vaccines previously.

3:15 pm – Jerantut (Datuk Ahmad Nazlan Idris – Umno) asked why some senior citizens didn’t get their vaccine appointments although they’ve registered, especially those living in rural areas.

He also wanted to know the percentage of vaccinated frontliners who have to deal with patients face to face.

3:18 pm – Simpang Renggam (Dr Maszlee Malik – Independent) during his turn asked what is the government’s plan to vaccinate those who are working in school such as canteen workers and other staff.

He also asked what is the status for Form 5 students’ vaccination programme, saying that it’s promised to happen in July, and it’s already near the end of the month.

He also suggested that IPTs which become vaccination centres should give out vaccines to students and staff members who work in the IPT as well.

3:30 pm – Semporna (Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal – Warisan) questions not only vaccines but also national expenses saying that even though lives are being jeopardised, the country also has to be prudent in its spending.

He also mentioned that the distribution of vaccines has been unequal, saying that other states have received more compared to others.

Shafie also suggests for walk-in vaccinations and jab those who are negative.

3:36 pm – Setiu (Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir – Pas) suggests to hasten vaccinations, do more awareness campaigns to combat anti-vaxxers and the inform on the importance of vaccines.

He also suggests that PPVs and vaccinations to be increased in Terengganu and government agencies use their vehicles to pick up people to be vaccinated.

3:43 pm – Hulu Langat (Datuk Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus – Amanah) said the government should conduct more studies on vaccines – both current and new – saying that local universities are well equipped to do so.

3:51 pm – Julau (Larry Soon – Independent) said that KDN should not punish undocumented migrants for getting vaccinated.

He said that these people are scared they will be facing action if they want to get vaccinated and many, Larry mentioned, are at risk of getting infected.

3:56 pm – Bayan Baru (Sim Tze Tzin – PKR) asks when Malaysia is getting more vaccines, what are the plans for students in the future and what is the vaccination plan for children.

He also asked touched on the registration process, saying that there might be some “queue cutting” that might be happening right now.

Touching on minimum purchase, he said that PharmaNiaga has set a minimum order to 4000 which costs around RM600,000 to RM800,000 and small clinics can’t cough up the money to pay, saying that the government should lower it.

4:05 pm – Jempol (BN) (Datuk Salim Sharif – Umno) certain CITFs is not performing well due to the bureaucracy by the district officers and there should be involvement from MPs.

4:10 pm – Mas Gading (Mordi Anak Bimol – DAP) questions why Sarawak has more vaccinations compared to Sabah.

He said that logistics and the internet have always been an issue, which he said the government – both past and present – are at fault for making it difficult to mobilise vaccines in the state.

Mas Gading also said that basic necessities such as papers are required in rural areas.

Batu Kawan chimed in, asking about the actions taken on those who complained about MySejahtera.

4:16 pm – Arau (Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim – Umno) said the government is doing a great job and gave his thanks to the government for giving out RM300,000 to MPs to help their constituents.

He also took a jab at the previous administration, saying that if Malaysia is under their rule, it will not succeed in fighting Covid-19.

Then a short shouting match commenced between the backbenchers.

4:26 pm – Wangsa Maju (Datin Dr Tan Yee Kew – PKR) said that there should be more PPVs and asked why government clinics – which is available in almost all constituencies – are not being used to vaccinate people.

She also asked why does the government chose to rent out spaces for PPVs.

4:29 pm – Maszlee rebuts the statement made by Arau who said that he quit his role as Education Minister, saying that he had to give up the role to Tun Dr Mahathir.

4:30 pm – Hulu Rajang said that the vaccine mobilisation programme should be extended to all rural areas in Malaysia and urged the government to study on interstate travel.

4:35 pm – Jerlun (Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir – Pejuang) criticised that there are inconsistencies in terms of statements, saying that they should align on which ones to prioritise before making announcements.

4:40 pm – KJ started off his answer by saying that all the criticisms and comments are accepted and gave his thanks to MPs for their input.

4:41 pm – Tuaran asked about the investigations on CodeBlue for their report on PPVs, saying that it’s not fair for authorities to take action on whistleblowers.

4:45 pm – Khairy agrees with Tuaran, saying that it should be accepted to make PPVs better.

4:46 pm – The Rembau MP said that Pfizer is a new vaccine and said that Malaysia only made the order once they were satisfied with the efficacy and safety of these vaccines.

Besides Malaysia, he mentioned that Japan, Australia and South Korea have also received their vaccines around the same time as this country.

He also said that one of the reasons why Singapore has received the vaccines earlier, he said that the government has invested in BioNTech.

As for Indonesia, he said that the country has agreed to become a clinical test bed, that’s why they got it earlier.

He said that Malaysia has been trying to procure vaccines for 2022 in the near future – specific to booster dose and doses for kids.

When asked about the booster dose, he said that the government is still waiting on the results from MOH’s clinical research team to know whether we will be needing booster doses and if mixed vaccines can be used here.

Rembau also said that Sinovac is not out of PICK, but is being stockpiled to administered those who are allergic to Pfizer’s vaccine.

He added that the government will have a policy for antibody testing and is not recommended for now based on US FDA and CDC.

Answering Semporna, Khairy said that the government plans to give at least one dose to every Malaysian, especially to those living rural areas.

He said that CanSino has been distributed to Sabah but admits that they don’t know how long the vaccine will be effective and the government might need to deploy booster shots if it’s needed in the future.

So far, Khairy said Pfizer and AstraZeneca are still effective against Covid-19 and so is Sinovac and added that any vaccine is a good vaccine for you.

He also said that Pfizer is only sold to governments and not private entities.

Rembau also said that although the policy is that people cannot choose their vaccine but leeway will be given for practical reasons.

Touching on CovNiv, he said that clinical trials have been in phase 3 since January and this vaccine has been approved for emergency use in China.

5:13 pm – Kuala Selangor asked whether they will be investing in a next generation of vaccines.

Answering Tanjong Karang, he said that he’s not aware if there’s a Covid-19 vaccine available in 2018.

He said that the government will make a u-turn adding that although vaccines via PICK are being given out for free, when supply is available in the public, it is not our place to close it.

MySejahtera is using first come first serve based on algorithms but PPVs and certain areas may be out of pace and added that if senior citizens register now, they will be pushed up the list.

Talking about walk-ins, Rembau said it’s available to seniors, but they need to be careful to prevent crowds.

5:21 pm – Segambut (Hannah Yeoh – DAP) suggests for a time extension but the Dewan Rakyat Speaker has denied.

In terms of school vaccinations 303,682 teachers (73.5%), 45,197 AKPs (67%), 33,633 support staff (38%) have received at least one dose.

He also said that 90% of Form 5 and Form 6 exam teachers have been vaccinated while in private schools, 66.8% exam teachers have been vaccinated.

KJ added CITF is working with MOE to ensure that teachers and other staff are identified to hasten the vaccination process.

The Rembau MP also announced that the NPRA has given the okay for vaccines to be used for teenagers age 12 to 18 but experts have recommended to JKJAV that it should be delayed for those aged 12 to 17 due to side effect reports from the US.

They said that although it is delayed, there will be clinical guidelines for high risk students but it’s on a voluntary basis.

He said that Sinofarm will be distributed under DuoPharma (a company under PNB).

For now, the government doesn’t have plans to make vaccination mandatory and they don’t want to force the people to take the vaccine.

As for those who have received both doses, he said the Prime Minister will announce what they will get to do soon.

MySejahtera will also introduce new feature for those who are vaccinated outside of Malaysia.

Talking about giving out more shots to Malaysians, he said the problem is Pfizer where the company gives the delivery schedule of 2 weeks ahead and they don’t know how many will arrive. So JKJAV can’t send out appointments.

Before Delta, he said that it was agreed to stretch the time between Pfizer shots – but with Delta it is recommended to continue with the schedule.

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