Tiong trains his guns on Khairy again, raising questions about vaccine purchase

PETALING JAYA: Questions on the validity of Covid-19 data and purchase of Covid-19 vaccines have been raised by Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

The Bintulu MP levelled his criticism against the Health Ministry (MOH) and its minister Khairy Jamaluddin, claiming that the Covid-19 data on deaths and confirmed cases “were being manipulated by unseen hands.”

He then questioned the ministry who allegedly did not take a serious action when a patient tested positive for the virus.

“After a friend of mine tested positive, he had asked the MOH for assistance and was simply told to self-isolate at home.

“He doesn't even need an isolation bracelet! He was told that he doesn’t have to go to the hospital, only to do regular self-tests and only contact the ministry if his situation worsens,” he said, adding that the situation might contribute to the unreported Covid-19 cases.

Tiong also questioned Khairy regarding the cost of Covid-19 vaccines procured since he took office.

“How many vaccine doses has the MOH purchased in total since Khairy took office?

“How much does it cost in total? What is the purchase price of each vaccine?” he said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 12).

He urged the minister to table a Bill calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to thoroughly investigate the action situation.

“This is what the people want and deserve to know,” he said.

In response to the minister’s reply on Tiong’s backlash previously, Tiong clarified that he was just asking the ministry to have a talk with China in regards to adopting appropriate and effective strategies to reduce Covid-19 mortality in Malaysia.

“I explicitly stated that a lockdown will not be viable because our people are already suffering,” the Progressive Democratic Party president said.

On Sunday, Tiong questioned the credibility of Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah’s expertise in the public health field.

Tiong, who is the Prime Minister’s special envoy to China, had said that Noor Hisham was a surgeon “whose background is not that of a public health specialist”.

“They (the health ministry) are obviously underqualified but still refuse to seek advice from China, which has massive experience in fighting this pandemic,” Tiong said in a Facebook post.

Khairy responded by giving his full support to Dr Noor Hisham and also said that Malaysia’s strategy of not implementing lockdowns instead achieving a high vaccination rate has been proven effective.