Of a doubtful majority, extended hours – and vaccines in 2018

 

Tanjung Karang MP Noh Omar had the house in stitches when he claimed that the Sinovac vaccine existed since 2018 and had been used as treatment for worms.

KUALA LUMPUR: The third day of the special parliamentary sitting saw more of the same, with MPs shouting at each other and the speaker blowing his top. But there was one moment with a difference, when all in the House were in stitches.

That was when Tanjung Karang MP, with a straight and serious face, claimed that the Sinovac vaccine had been around since 2018. Noh Omar (BN-Tanjong Karang) said it had been used for the treatment of worms.

Puzzled, vaccine coordinating minister Khairy Jamaruddin replied: “Thank you for the question but I don’t know which Covid-19 vaccine has existed since 2018.”

He then pointed out that the virus itself was called Covid-19 because it was only discovered in 2019, and had not been heard of in 2018.

Noh’s gaffe had the MPs laughing, a change from the usual heated exchanges but Noh stood his ground, saying the information was given to him by Pharmaniaga and it was not his fault if the pharmaceutical company had given him the wrong information.

He had probably mixed up the Sinovac vaccine with Ivermectin, an unapproved drug that has always been used to kill heartworms in dogs.

Shortage of time

The day, however, belonged to Khairy who handled well the volley of questions thrown at him in quick succession.

In fact, as more MPs stood to ask questions, Hannah Yeoh (PH-Segambut) made an appeal to speaker Azhar Azizan Harun to extend today’s sitting to allow Khairy to continue, only to see the speaker losing his cool.

Yeoh said that unlike health minister Adham Baba who did not want to answer questions, Khairy was willing to answer all questions.

However, Azhar retorted that the session would end at 5.30pm and he only had the power to extend it by a maximum of 15 minutes. He then told her to shut up and later switched off the microphones of all MPs.

Vaccines for the education sector

Khairy, in his explanation, said all teachers would receive their vaccine shots before schools reopen on Sept 1.

As of July 27, 73% of teachers have received their first dose while 67% of supporting staff including canteen workers and school bus drivers have received their jabs.

Students heading to Europe or Australia, he said, could request for Pzifer or AstraZeneca as these countries do not recognise Sinovac.

Khairy asked the students to click on MySejatera helpdesk for assistance and cancel any appointments they may have to be vaccinated.

No to mandatory shots but…

Those who are fully vaccinated will enjoy privileges that anti-vaxxers will not enjoy. The government has yet to announce the privileges but the rakyat are hoping to dine out once fully vaccinated. Khairy told the House that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin would be announcing the privileges list soon.

If you are 12 to 17 years old

Adolescents within this age are not required to be vaccinated as records from the US show that it may affect the lungs. But Khairy said the national Covid-19 immunisation programme would offer vaccines to those with chronic illness on a voluntary basis.

Booster shots and vaccines mix

He also addressed another major concern that many have, saying that the government would announce next week if there is a need for booster shots for those fully vaccinated and the possibility of mixing vaccines to enhance immunity.

Khairy said a team of experts will base their recommendations on real-world data clinical tests if it is safe. This move comes after some countries like South Korea and Germany allowed mixed vaccines due to interruption of vaccine supplies.

Even former Chancellor Angela Merkel has had a mix of AstraZeneca and Moderna for her two shots.

Prove Muhyiddin has the majority

Although politics was low-key for much of the day as MPs focused on saving lives and speeding up vaccination after the delay since February, a PAS MP caused a ruckus when he spoke up in favour of Muhyiddin.

Sik MP Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman claimed that the Prime Minister had the majority, sending the House into chaos with opposition MPs challenging the government to go for a vote.

The challenge was not taken as the governing MPs remained silent on the matter.

They may have had their doubts about winning a vote – after all, even Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was sitting amongst the independents who do not support the government. - FMT