Wee: Transport Ministry proud to play a role in Covid-19 vaccine delivery

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic) says he is pleased that the Transport Ministry was entrusted to bring in the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and will work towards enabling frontliners in the transport sector to be included in the first phase of the vaccination program.

"I am very pleased when the Transport Ministry (MOT), through the national cargo airline, MASKargo was entrusted to help bring in 312,390 doses of the Pfizer vaccine today to be distributed to the people of Malaysia.

"Our high hopes for the arrival of this first group vaccine will be a ray of light that will end the national battle against the Covid-19 epidemic," he said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Feb 21).

The Transport Minister said MASKargo was given the responsibility to manage the entry of the vaccines from Changi to KLIA.

"Prior to this, the vaccine was only brought in by DHL (including worldwide) under the management of Pfizer itself," he said, adding that he hopes MASKargo could play a bigger role in bringing important products like vaccines in the future.

Wee added that the Ministry would provide full cooperation and facilities to ensure that the supply of vaccines reach their destinations safely and on time with compliance to current policies as well as technical safety standards set by the Civil Aviation Authority, Road Transport Department and Malaysian Marine Department.

Wee said with the importance of the transport sector and its services during the implementation of the movement control order, the government will consider including a total of 67,573 workers from the sector to be given priority in the vaccination programme.

"This will ensure that transportation services provided are made safer and more reliable as workers are protected from Covid-19," he said.