Buyers and sellers driven by desperation and greed

PETALING JAYA: Curious as to how fake certificates are being sold online, a doctor did some digging and found a group involved in such a trade.

“I found a Telegram group where the seller offered me RM500 for a physical card and RM1,500 for a MySejahtera digital certificate,” the doctor said.

The doctor, who wanted to remain anonymous, recalled an incident whereby a patient who worked at a factory was desperate for a fake certificate.

“She is only earning RM1,500 per month, but she was willing to pay a hefty price just to get the certificate,” she said.

The doctor said she had since reported the group to the relevant authorities.

The doctor claimed those involved in the sale of these certificates were mostly based in private clinics.

“Their businesses were not doing well during the pandemic period, so those with no integrity and faith did anything to survive.

“I don’t think that they are doing it because they are anti-vaxxers; if they are, why sell it? They can just do it for free since they are getting the vaccine from the ministry, and they get paid RM14 for every vaccine they administer.

“For me, this is an act of treason because they were entrusted; they were supposed to help the government and it is their responsibility to the country. Instead, they breached the trust.

“Imagine how much the government has spent on the vaccines. Some Third World countries don’t have access to the vaccination programme because they are poor, but these doctors simply throw away the vaccine,” the doctor said.

The doctor suggested that the government stop private clinics from administering the vaccine.

“It is very difficult for a doctor at a public PPV to get involved in the activity because the process of vaccination involves many people. You have people who will register your name in the system, another officer to administer the jab, and different people to observe for any side effects.

“So if an officer wants to cheat, he or she will have to pay a lot of people.

“This is in comparison to a private clinic where everything is being handled by a doctor and maybe one of his staff,” the doctor said.