By Siti Rohaizah Zainal
KAJANG, April 10 — Selangor’s success in combating the Covid-19 pandemic’s challenges was due to effective cooperation between the state government and the state health department.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said when Covid-19 struck Malaysia, Selangor was the most severely affected state, particularly the spike in cases, number of deaths and overcrowding of hospitals.
“I recalled that from 2020 to 2021, along with the Selangor health director and the state executive councillor for public health, we were continually trying out novel new techniques and strategies to tackle the virus.
“The state government had continuously improved its ongoing efforts, such as the free screenings at selected localities, followed by the free vaccinations. We bought close to 700,000 vaccines.
The state government’s ongoing initiatives have been continually improved, such as the free screenings at selected sites followed by the free vaccinations. We purchased almost 700,000 vaccinations.
“Also, we served as a point of reference for the operation of the Maeps quarantine centre, which functioned as a temporary treatment facility, hospital, and emergency centre. Without the support of the state’s health department, we would have been unable to defeat Covid-19,” he said in his speech during a breaking-fast event with 500 health frontliners at Hospital Serdang, here last night.
Also present were state executive councillor for public health Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, state executive councillor for culture and heritage Borhan Aman Shah and Selangor health director Dato’ Dr Sha’ari Ngadiman.
Amirudin said following the Covid-19 outbreak, the state government introduced the public health portfolio, which is overseen by Dr Siti Mariah.
“We had to take action in order to be ready for the challenges that lay ahead. This was because, in 2020, we were unprepared in various aspects.
“Taking the public health factors into consideration, we also created the Community Health Volunteers (Suka) in order for them to serve as catalysts, particularly at the grassroots level,” he said.
Meanwhile, Amirudin added that the breaking-fast event with the frontliners this year was held separately from the other state civil servants, such as the security forces and teachers, as a show of appreciation for their efforts and sacrifices.
