PUTRAJAYA: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin was scheduled to receive his Covid-19 vaccination but decided to give up his slot to a frontliner instead.
Hamzah was supposed to be vaccinated together with other heads of agencies under the ministry such as the police, Immigration Department, Rela, Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESScom) and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency at the Putrajaya health clinic in Precinct 18 on Monday (March 1).
However, since he had just recovered from being infected with Covid-19, the minister decided to give way to Muhammad Ridzuan Zakaria, an information officer at the clinic to be vaccinated.
“I had consulted with the Health director-general (Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah) and other doctors on this. Because I had been infected, my body already has Covid-19 antibodies.
“I need not get vaccinated for now so I gave the opportunity to frontliner Muhammad Ridzuan who needed it, ” he said when met at the vaccination centre on Monday.
Among officials who were vaccinated were Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, Immigration director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud, Prisons deputy director-general Datuk Nordin Muhammad and MMEA director-general Maritime Admiral Datuk Zubil Mat Som.
Rela director-general Yahya Sulaiman, Home Ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman, Malaysian Border Security Agency (Aksem) director-general Rizzuan Mohd Zain and Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department deputy director Comm Datuk Azri Ahmad were also given the jab.
Hamzah was tested positive for Covid-19 on Jan 12 and spent 12 days under quarantine at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.
