Who Wouldn’t Want To Be Vaccinated In A Palace!
Kelantan Sultan consents to turning Istana Balai Besar into a PPV.
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In an unexpected move of generosity, the Sultan of Kelantan, Sultan Muhammad V, gave his blessings to open the Istana Balai Besar to the public and be used as a Covid-19 vaccination centre (PPV).
Istana Balai Besar is located in the middle of Koha Bharu, Kelantan. Its centralised location and size made it the perfect PPV.
It was built in 1844 when Sultan Muhammad II moved the administrative centre of Kelantan from Kota Saba to Kota Bharu.
Since 1845, all official ceremonies and royal customs were conducted there. It is considered an Istana Keramat (Sacred Palace) to the Kelantanese royalty.
The comptroller of the Royal Household, Datuk Tengku Azmi Tengku Jaafar said the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme at Istana Balai Besar is organised by the office of the Sultan of Kelantan in collaboration with the Health Department for Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan (PPN). It is also the only palace that is open for this purpose.
About 2,000 recipients are expected to receive the vaccine via this program. 1,000 of them are locals while the rest are the staff and relatives of the Kelantan Palace.
Previously, Istana Balai Besar was open for Phase 1 of the PPN. However, it only involved 350 officers and staff of the Kelantan Palace.
Tengku Azmi added that the palace was also planning to organise several other programmes at Istana Balai Besar, including distributing food baskets.
Meanwhile, last month, the Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan, Dr Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra, donated five Covid-19 vaccine storage containers to the Kelantan State Health Department.
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