We don’t vaccinate foreigners, clarifies KL welfare centre

 

The foreign workers who joined in the queue for vaccines, refused to disperse despite being told to do so, the welfare centre said.

PETALING JAYA: The Rumah Prihatin@Grand Seasons welfare centre in Jalan Pahang, Kuala Lumpur has clarified that it does not vaccinate foreigners.

It issued a statement following a viral video today which alleged that hundreds of foreign workers were queueing up for their vaccination at the centre.

In the seven-minute long video, which has racked up nearly three million views, a man claimed that the large crowd of people who were queueing without observing physical distancing were made up of “foreign workers going to get their vaccines at the vaccination centre (PPV)”.

“This is due to the misinformation that Rumah Prihatin allegedly provides walk-in vaccine services for non-citizens. However, walk-in vaccine services for all foreigners is at the Bukit Jalil PPV,” the centre said.

“As such, there was a rush of people that was beyond our expectations.

“We would like to emphasise that Rumah Prihatin only accepts direct registration (for vaccines) for Malaysian citizens, with priority given to the elderly, people with disabilities, as well as the marginalised and vulnerable groups.”

Rumah Prihatin said that it tried to disperse the crowd, but “the foreigners still did not want to disperse” despite being instructed to do so.

It added that the situation was eventually rectified with the help of the police and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

Rumah Prihatin also said that its vaccination programme is managed under the MyMedic@Wilayah Vaccination programme and does not involve any other party.

Expressing regret over the incident, Rumah Prihatin said it will further improve compliance with SOPs with the help of the authorities to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

In the viral video on Instagram today, hundreds of people were seen outside the former Grand Seasons Hotel building, which was last month converted into a centre providing accommodation, food, mental health services and vaccinations and renamed Rumah Prihatin@Grand Seasons.

Responding to the video, Dang Wangi district police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya said police had taken “immediate action by ordering a team to the PPV to control the situation”.

“The team successfully controlled the situation at the PPV until the end of the vaccination programme,” he said.

In a post on his Facebook page, deputy prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he was shocked to see videos of people ignoring SOPs at both Rumah Prihatin and the Bukit Jalil PPV.

“I hope the authorities in enforcement will ensure that the issue of foreign workers overcrowding like this does not happen again because it can lead to fresh Covid-19 clusters.” - FMT