KUALA LUMPUR | Individuals who refuse vaccination against Covid-19 must face the consequences of their action, such as being denied certain privileges given to those who are fully vaccinated.
Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye also urged the authorities to adopt harsher punishments against those found misusing the vaccination certificates through forgery or unauthorized use from vaccinated individuals.
“Anti-vaccines individuals clearly want to enjoy the level of freedom accorded to those who have been fully vaccinated. But these individuals must learn that they can’t have their cake and eat it.
“It is wrong for them to endanger the lives of others. They should understand that their action is a crime, that they are dicing with death and should be severely dealt with,” he said in a statement, today.
Lee urged the authorities to increase the penalty for individuals found forging vaccination certificates of vaccinated individuals and manipulating them for their own use.
“The police are also reportedly investigating cases from private clinics claiming to have received calls from individuals offering RM1,000 for a vaccination certificate, without being jabbed.
“These acts are a clear violation of the law and those found guilty of such crime are liable to be fined up to RM100,000. Perhaps the penalty should be increased and extended to other forms of punishment including having their passports confiscated, and imprisonment.
“It is important for the police to act fast and inform the public of the outcome of the investigation, to restore the people’s confidence in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme,” he said.
Restoring public confidence, he said, was crucial to achieving success in any government initiative.
“Too often we have heard the authorities initiating investigations into accidents or some other wrongdoings, but the results of the investigations were not released, which could result in trust deficit.
He cited cases of empty vaccine jabs reportedly administered at vaccination centers (PPVs), with former National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin saying that the cases were isolated.
“The public would like to see the full results of the police investigation and understand how the authorities had come to this conclusion.
“This is a matter of public health, so the people have the right to know,” he said.
