Hisham wants full force of law on vaccine cert forgers

Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein wants the full force of the law to come down on those responsible for making fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates.

Hishammuddin (above), who is the senior minister overseeing the enforcement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) against Covid-19, said such actions will jeopardise the safe reopening of the country.

"It renders the SOPs, which much thought has gone into the details, to be meaningless.

"If vaccination certificate and test results can be forged, it will affect the safe reopening (of all sectors).

"This is unacceptable and unforgivable and affects the lives and health of the innocent. Let's get to the bottom of it. I want the full force of the law on them.

"I want them to make sure they realise there is a limit in trying to profit and make money at the expense of people's lives," he told a press conference after an inter-ministerial meeting on managing the pandemic.

The remand against a doctor in Terengganu was extended today after he was accused of selling fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates. 

Terengganu police chief Rohaimi Md Isa was reported to have said that initial investigations revealed 1,900 individuals had dealings with the clinic but the cops are still trying to establish the exact number of fake certificates sold.

The doctor is believed to have charged between RM400 and RM600 a person for a vaccination certificate without actually administering the vaccination injection, according to Bernama.

'There must be a deterrent'

Asked if this was due to weaknesses in the system, Hishammuddin said when there is money involved, people will always try to game the system but what is important is a strong deterrent.

"If it's to make money, whatever system it is, they will find a loophole. We just have to be one step ahead of them and secondly, there must be a deterrent," he said.

The minister said other countries have also faced similar issues and swift action must be taken.

Hishammuddin noted that country's Covid-19 management has improved markedly, ranking 13th in Nikkei's Covid-19 Recovery Index.

However, he said the country cannot let its guard down now amid the spread of the Omicron variant, many coming from abroad.

Hishammuddin said the government is considering more travel bans on several high-risk countries but ruled out a lockdown.

He added that the government planned to transition to the endemic phase early this year but this was postponed due to the flash floods last month which raised concerns about the SARS-CoV-2's spread at relief centres as well as the threat of the Omicron variant.

He said several issues need to be resolved before the transition, including management of the Omicron variant and the vaccinated travel lane arrangement with various countries.

He added that the SOPs for Thaipusam and Chinese New Year are still being discussed and will be announced soon. - Mkini