Umno man takes jab at Wan Saiful over vaccine registration deadline

 

Puad Zarkashi says Wan Saiful Wan Jan must find out why some people have yet to be vaccinated despite having registered months earlier.

PETALING JAYA: An Umno leader has asked Wan Saiful Wan Jan to investigate the reasons behind the slowdown in Covid-19 vaccine registrations following the latter’s proposal to fix a deadline to sign up for the exercise.

In becoming the latest to criticise the Bersatu information chief, Puad Zarkashi said Wan Saiful should not assume that the public were idle.

As one who loves “science and data”, Wan Saiful should go to the ground to find out, the Umno supreme council member said.

“Is the MySejahtera application okay? How about in rural areas or Orang Asli villages?

“If Malaysians were really idle, why was there a rush to sign up for AstraZeneca,” he said in a statement, referring to the voluntary vaccination programme.

Puad also questioned if Wan Saiful had found out why some had yet to be vaccinated despite having registered months earlier.

Yesterday, Wan Saiful said a deadline for vaccine registration may create a “sense of urgency” and draw members of the public into signing up quickly, a proposal that was met with scorn from opposition MPs.

He also said the government and NGOs could join forces to register members of the public before the suggested deadline.

But Puad said there was no reason to fix a deadline to rope in the NGOs.

“Why can’t the government agencies, including the Bersatu machinery, do so now?”

Puad said Wan Saiful’s suggestion came off as a threat.

“It is as if the fault lies with individuals if they fail to register before the deadline,” he said, adding that it could be Perikatan Nasional’s way of administering the country – via threats.

“The problem is, their ways are half-baked,” he said, referring to VVIPs who had been let off the hook when they flouted SOPs. - FMT