KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 — There has been no instruction from the government to make it mandatory for Malaysians to get booster jabs following the increase in Covid-19 cases, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He said for the time being, the Health Ministry (MOH) only encouraged people, especially those in vulnerable and high-risk groups, to take a third booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“This is a minor misunderstanding on social media; please verify the content before we share any information; sometimes the headline does not match the content, and I advise that we verify (the content) first,” he told reporters at Wisma Bernama today.
Fahmi was speaking after witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) and China’s Xinhua News Agency, which was also attended by Bernama’s Editor-in-Chief (also discharging the duties of Chief Executive Officer) Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin.
Also present was Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai.
The minister added that he would meet Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad to suggest he meet with the editors-in-chief of media outlets nationwide to clarify issues related to the booster dose.
Meanwhile, Fahmi described claims that Chinese nationals who participated in the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme were eligible to become permanent residents (PR) in the country as slanderous and baseless.
He stressed that anyone seeking Malaysian citizenship must undergo a stringent screening process.
“The government will ensure that the situation is under control and will not simply grant citizenship to anyone,” Fahmi said.
Masjid Tanah MP Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsuddin, also the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman, was reported to have made such allegations on X (formerly known as Twitter) based on hearsay.
Fahmi also expressed regret that the statement was made by the PAC chairman, who had the power to ask for clarifications on the matter in Parliament but chose not to do so.
— Bernama
