{"id":42267,"date":"2020-12-23T06:26:39","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T22:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/?p=42267"},"modified":"2020-12-23T06:26:39","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T22:26:39","slug":"singapore-received-vaccines-first-batch-while-malaysia-only-signing-agreement-with-astrazeneca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/singapore-received-vaccines-first-batch-while-malaysia-only-signing-agreement-with-astrazeneca\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore received vaccine\u2019s first batch while Malaysia only signing agreement with AstraZeneca"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Media Statement by MP for Iskandar Puteri, Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on 22&nbsp;December 2020:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/CD7243E3-63FC-4376-9EDF-91AC3EE20FA1-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18241\" width=\"600\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\"><strong>What a contrast in news reports \u2013 Singapore &nbsp;received its first batch of Pfizer\u2019s Covid-19 vaccine while Malaysian Prime Minister only signing agreement with AstraZeneca for an additional 6.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\n\n<p>What a contrast in news reports \u2013 Singapore received its first batch of Pfizer\u2019s Covid-19 vaccine while Malaysian Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin only signing agreement with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for an additional 6.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Singapore is the first Asian country to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech shots after it said last week that it had approved the companies&#8217; vaccine and is expected to&nbsp;begin a widespread vaccination programme in the first week of January with the aged and priority work first, and a target to vaccinate the entire population of 5.3 million as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1D327A59-297C-4360-BFA1-BC5D6B7242E4-838x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18237\" width=\"600\"\/><figcaption><em>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.malaymail.com\/news\/singapore\/2020\/12\/21\/first-shipment-of-covid-19-vaccine-arrives-in-singapore-from-belgium\/1933982\">Malay Mail article<\/a> screenshot on Singapore receiving the vaccine.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\n\n<p>Malaysia? The Prime Minister has just signed agreement for the&nbsp;procurement of an additional 10 percent or 6.4 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for 40 percent of the population through Covax, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I thank the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin for inviting me to his post-Cabinet press conference tomorrow on the pricing of Pfizer\u2019s Covid-19 vaccine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am not in Kuala Lumpur and will not be in Putrajaya for his press conference, especially as I believe that Malaysian journalists are among the best in the world and can handle Khairy\u2019s press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let Khairy tell Malaysians the pricing difference between Malaysia\u2019s procurement of Covid-19 vaccine with other countries like Belgium and Singapore.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And even more important, let Khairy announce that the vaccine will be free for all Malaysians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/B7AC8429-38B2-4939-9EAC-59C5DA4A6BB2-948x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18239\" width=\"600\"\/><figcaption><em>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theedgemarkets.com\/article\/govt-has-signed-agreement-astrazeneca-procure-64-million-doses-covid19-vaccine-says-pm\">The Edge Market\u2019s article<\/a> screenshot of Malaysia\u2019s deal with AstraZeneca <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\n\n<p>However, if the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is prepared to hold a press conference or a special function to announce that the government is finally prepared to adopt an&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201call-of-government\u201d and \u201cwhole-of-society\u201d strategy and approach in the war against the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic, and the new measures in this strategy and approach, I will make myself available for Muhyiddin\u2019s announcement if invited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The US-based Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation (IHME) projects a continuous rise in Covid-19 cases until mid-March 2021, hitting over 5,000 infections daily at the end of February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the IHME model is proved right, then Malaysia will join the top 30 countries in the world with the most rapid surge in Covid-19 infections, as there are less than 25 countries in the world which register a daily increase of 5,000 Covid-19 infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/F23E98B4-BDE7-43F3-8A9C-DDD825115BCE.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17229\" width=\"600\"\/><figcaption><em>For illustrative purposes.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\n\n<p>On Dec. 17, Malaysia overtook China with more cumulative total of Covid-19 cases, exchanging places with&nbsp;China in the ranking of countries with most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases \u2013 Malaysia No. 79 and China No. 80.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yesterday, on Dec. 21, we surged forward in Covid-19 infections and is now ranked No. 76 in the world, having overtaken three more countries, i.e. Bahrain, Kenya and Libya after registering 2,018 new Covid-19&nbsp;cases, bringing the nation\u2019s cumulative total to 95,327 cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Malaysia is set to overtake more countries, in a trajectory to join the world\u2019s top 30 countries with the most number of Covid-19 cases \u2013 a sure and serious sign of the Malaysia\u2019s fast decline to a failed state.&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\n\n<p>Malaysians are increasingly concerned about&nbsp;the government\u2019s response to the&nbsp; Covid-19 pandemic, not just the procurement, prices and safety of Covid-19 vaccine but why the government is&nbsp;shying away from an \u201call-of-government\u201d and \u201cwhole-of-society\u201d strategy and approach to bring the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lim Kit Siang,<br \/>MP for Iskandar Puteri.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Media Statement by MP for Iskandar Puteri, Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on 22&nbsp;December 2020: What a contrast in news reports \u2013 Singapore &nbsp;received its first batch of Pfizer\u2019s Covid-19 vaccine while Malaysian Prime Minister only signing agreement with AstraZeneca for an additional 6.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine &nbsp; What a contrast in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[250,458,475],"tags":[574,335,1389,244,563,785,1292,1390,1064,665,326,1216],"class_list":{"0":"post-42267","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cover-story","8":"category-current-affairs","9":"category-national","10":"tag-covid-19","11":"tag-dap","12":"tag-khairy-jamaluddin","13":"tag-lim-kit-siang","14":"tag-malaysia","15":"tag-muhyiddin-yassin","16":"tag-pfizer","17":"tag-pfizer-biontech","18":"tag-pm","19":"tag-pn","20":"tag-singapore","21":"tag-vaccine"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}