No in-person Parliament until herd immunity achieved, home minister says

 

Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin said today that Parliament will only sit after the country achieves herd immunity against the Covid-19 virus.

He said calls for the government to reconvene the Dewan Rakyat before the immunisation objective is fulfilled would only "spark more infection clusters".

"What is important for us now is that everybody gets vaccinated. If everybody has got their vaccines and we have herd immunity, then what will happen next is we can reopen Parliament, we can hold gatherings.

"However, when we are yet to reach there, why make such calls (to have Parliament sittings) that can spark more clusters, which can be damaging and create ill feelings?" Hamzah told reporters during a visit to a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur.

The minister's comments came about when he was answering a question on the government's plan to take action against anti-vaxxers. Hamzah suddenly detoured and took a swipe at those calling for Parliament to resume.

For the record, the Dewan Rakyat has yet to convene this year. The Perikatan Nasional government has declined to call for a sitting - citing fear of Covid-19 outbreaks - despite being urged by many quarters from both sides of the political divide.

The embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin-led administration declared a state of emergency in January, giving it the power to suspend Parliament.

According to Hamzah, each time Parliament sits, over 1,000 people including MPs, civil servants and staff would gather at the Parliament building complex from morning until evening for four days a week.

"So, wouldn't this make it a hotspot? If we prevent this now, the cluster won't occur."

Hamzah claimed that even opposition party PKR did not conduct an on-site party congress and instead resorted to a virtual meeting.

"I saw on the news that PKR is very proud of doing their congress virtually. What does this mean?

"It means that they are also scared of doing a gathering, but they want that to happen with Parliament," he said.

According to Hamzah, a virtual Parliament sitting was also not workable as this would create other issues.

"If we want to hold Parliament sittings virtually, then there will be much more problems. How are we going to do it virtually?

"There are many people involved, including government servants. Thousands of them. This is what we will take into consideration. If it is possible, then why not?" he added.

Hamzah also urged those calling for the Parliament to sit to "not be emotional".

Responding to Hamzah, Public Accounts Committee chairperson Wong Kah Woh said the government should prioritise some 400 Parliament staff members for vaccination if it is sincere in wanting the Dewan Rakyat to reconvene.

Public Accounts Committee chairperson Wong Kah Woh

He noted that all MPs have already been vaccinated months ago and parliamentary staff should be next in line.

“The nation is in dire need of Parliament to reconvene, for parliamentarians from both sides to sit together and join forces in saving the nation from the pandemic.

“We are less than two months before the emergency ends. The period for the preparation of the first dose until the completion of the second dose of vaccination will take approximately five to six weeks.

“The government should start the process now if they are sincere and has the political will to reconvene Parliament,” the Ipoh Timor MP said in a statement today.

For the record, the Covid-19 vaccinations are only considered complete two weeks after the second dose is administered, in order to give time for the body’s immune response to take its course.

The two doses of the Pfizer vaccine are administered three weeks apart, while the Sinovac vaccine doses are administered two weeks apart.

The AstraZeneca vaccine doses were originally intended to be administered four weeks apart, but a 12-week interval was later found to be more effective and is the one used in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. - Mkini