Warisan declares readiness to help Sabah battle Covid-19 surge

 

Darell said following reports that the state is facing a vaccine shortage, an explanation should be offered on whether Sabah received the 200,000 doses of the Cansino vaccine when it arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from China on Aug 20. - STR/MOHD ADAM ARININ.

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah has expressed its readiness to aid the Sabah government in dealing with the ongoing surge of Covid-19 cases.

Warisan deputy president Datuk Darell Leiking said its elected representatives and divisional machineries are ready to support the relevant local administrators and officials.

Darell who is also Penampang member of parliament, said politicians should not confine their thinking merely within the political context as the issue at hand involves the lives of innocent people.

"We all must work together and do something about it because no one is truly protected from it, not even those who have completed their two doses," he said.

He said the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) led state government should ask the federal government to embark on a large-scale mobile vaccination exercise in the state.

He suggested that the government utilise all assets such as converting tour buses for the outreach vaccination programme state-wide.

Meanwhile, Darell also urged new prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to explain the late delivery of vaccines to Sabah.

He said as a former chairman of the National Security Council (NSC), Ismail Sabri should be aware of the assurances given by former coordinating minister for the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme (NIP) Khairy Jamaluddin.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, he said, was assured that the state would be given priority when three million Cansino single-dose vaccines arrive in Malaysia this month.

Darell said following reports that the state is facing a vaccine shortage, an explanation should be offered on whether Sabah received the 200,000 doses of the Cansino vaccine when it arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from China on Aug 20.

He also asked the state government to specify its next course of action if the vaccine supplies had indeed been delivered and dispensed, given that Sabah has aimed to inoculate 50,000 people a day.

He said following the Malay Rulers' views that the vaccination programme must be sped up in all states, similar attention should also be accorded to Sabah.

He cautioned that the low vaccination rate could lead to Sabah overtaking Selangor on the highest number of Covid-19 deaths. - NST