KUALA KANGSAR, Nov 1 — The call for civil servants to take the Covid-19 vaccine is to protect society as a whole, and not to oppress them, says Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad.
He said civil servants and others in the state who had not been vaccinated should set aside any views they may have regarding the matter and receive their jabs.
“I hope Allah will give guidance to civil servants in Perak who have not been vaccinated.
“In Perak, as long as there are those who refuse to take the vaccine roaming around, then the chances of getting infected and infecting others are very high. We do not want to oppress, but rather protect. We are not forcing them, but government employees are bound by the existing rules.
“The action against these civil servants is being taken because the government has taken into account that these people have a chance to get infected and cause others to become infected. This includes teachers, (and) those who are manning counters and always dealing with the public,” he said during a townhall session with government staff and the people here, today.
The directive for civil servants to take the vaccine is in line with the federal government’s general circular that those who fail to complete their Covid-19 immunisation may be subject to disciplinary action or termination of service from today.
Saarani said it would be unfortunate if the efforts of the federal and state governments to curb the spread of Covid-19 as well as to spread awareness on the importance of being vaccinated were not taken seriously by certain quarters, including civil servants who were yet to be vaccinated.
“It is not fair to people who have already taken the vaccine. We can understand if they have health problems or allergies, but those who deliberately refuse to take the vaccine will only inconvenience others,” he said.
On October 14, State Education, Higher Education and Human Resource Committee chairman Ahmad Saidi Mohamad Daud reportedly said that about 300 school teachers in Perak had yet to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
He said based on the information obtained, some teachers were still waiting for an appointment date through the MySejahtera application, while others had yet to register themselves.
Meanwhile, Saarani when asked regarding the state’s transition to Phase Four of the National Recovery Plan (PPN), said the state government was optimistic it would be soon, as the number of cases had been declining, with only 224 new cases recorded yesterday.
As of yesterday, about 85.7 per cent of the adult population in Perak had been fully vaccinated and a total of 1.75 million people in the state have completed their jabs. — Bernama
