KLANG: Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has conveyed his sadness and disappointment over the refusal of several religious teachers and mosque officials to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

       The Sultan, in a post on the Selangor Royal Office Facebook on Wednesday (Sept 22), expressed his disappointment that only 203 out of the 873 religious (Kafa) teachers, mosque committee members and marriage solemnisers (jurunikah) in Selangor had attended the special frontliners vaccination programme organised by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque earlier the same day.

       "What further disappointed His Highness, out of the 203 that were present, 96 people refused to be vaccinated," said the post.

       Sultan Sharafuddin decreed that what had happened was very disappointing as the individuals' stubbornness would cause problems for others, especially religious school students, it added.

       "His Highness stressed various initiatives and methods have been carried out, especially from His Highnesses' urging with Jais and the Selangor Health Department cooperation to ensure the safety of all Muslims in the state," it said.

       This included extending and simplifying the Covid-19 vaccination process to mosque employees and religious department staff to allow Muslims to return to worshipping and carrying out activities (in mosques) as usual.

       According to the post, Sultan Sharafuddin would scrutinise the names of the religious school teachers, mosque committee members and marriage solemnisers who were refusing to be inoculated and a decision would be made soon in regards to action that would be taken.

       Meanwhile, JAIS director Datuk Mohd Shahzihan Ahmad said a list of names of those who had declined vaccinations will be presented to Sultan Sharafuddin by the end of the week.