Be patient, rakyat urged

PUTRAJAYA: Fully vaccinated individuals may soon enjoy less stricter lockdown restrictions, including travelling, as the country gears itself towards a return to normalcy.

With Malaysia’s Covid-19 immunisation programme advancing well, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has asked for patience as the government works out its National Recovery Plan.

“I’ve asked for relaxation to be considered for those who have received two vaccine doses.

“The National Recovery Plan is ongoing until the end of the year, so let’s be patient.

“Be confident that we can win this war,” said Muhyiddin at a press conference yesterday.

Muhyiddin said the national vaccination drive is a “light at the end of the tunnel” in the country’s battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We managed to vaccinate over 421,000 people in a day, and hopefully this can be maintained.

“Now, our focus is towards the greater Klang Valley.

“Through our targeted measures, we can deal with the Covid-19 infections better.

“We hope that our vaccine supplies will also continue increasing this month and next, so we can keep to our projection of completing the recovery plan by the end of the year,” said Muhyiddin.

The Prime Minister was speaking to reporters at the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry where he was inspecting the preparations for the Bakul Prihatin Negara aid programme.

Also present was Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun.

About 420,000 aid baskets are to be distributed to 1.68 million people who have been affected by the pandemic.

The Star in a recent report quoted health experts as saying that relaxation of Covid-19 rules can be considered for those fully vaccinated as it may encourage hesitant individuals to get their jab.

However, they feel that such a move should only be done after the majority of the Malaysian population is fully vaccinated.

Health experts also said a balance needs to be struck between incentivising people to get vaccinated and remaining cautious, especially in light of the Delta variant.