Rep: Vaccinate Undocumented Migrants By Going To Them

Michelle Ng says without a moratorium on immigration laws, there is no guarantee that undocumented persons will be spared from arrests when getting Covid-19 shots at vaccine centres.

KUALA LUMPUR, August 25 — Subang Jaya state assemblywoman Michelle Ng today called for greater efforts to inoculate the state’s undocumented migrants against Covid-19 by proactively sending vaccines to their communities.

Ng said without a moratorium on immigration laws, many undocumented persons — including refugees and migrant workers — remain fearful of arrests while seeking Covid-19 treatment or vaccination due to their immigration status.

The Selangor state representative said while agreements with local police have been made to prevent arrests, there is no guarantee that it will hold water.

“Despite this understanding, the state has to be mindful that it cannot force these individuals out of their comfort zones. For example, Subang Jaya DUN’s Selvax programme is at De Palma Hotel in Shah Alam, which is only 10 minutes away from Subang Jaya. Although the distance isn’t far, these groups are still afraid to travel due to fears of reprisals,” Ng said in her speech at the state legislative assembly sitting today.

“Since the (immigration) law is still in place, we cannot promise that no action will be taken against them. Until they are safe, we will not be safe. It’s important that the state government use all their resources to find where they are and bring the vaccines to them instead.”

Ng said without a definitive figure on Malaysia’s undocumented population, it is questionable if Selangor’s single-dose vaccination rate is as high as 98 per cent of the state’s adult population.

According to the Special Committee for Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV), a total of 86 per cent of the adult population in Klang Valley (Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya) has been fully vaccinated, as of August 24.

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