IPOH: The Perak state health committee chairman has come under fire for not going to the ground during the Covid-19 pandemic.

       Several opposition assemblymen raised the issue during their debate on the motion of thanks to the Royal Address at the state assembly yesterday.

       Many in the opposition acknowledged that Mentri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad was instead doing the job of Mohd Akmal Kamaruddin.Tan Kar Hing (Simpang Pulai-PKR), Howard Lee (Pasir Pinji- DAP), and Datuk Asmuni Awi (Manjoi-Amanah) were among the few who took a dig at Mohd Akmal.

       Tan said with the number of Covid-19 cases on the rise in Perak, the only person seen doing the job of the health exco was Saarani.

       “We have seen the Mentri Besar at the openings of vaccination centres and visiting enhanced movement control order areas, outreach vaccine programmes and other related events, but not the health committee chairman.

       “I am wondering if the health exco is busier than the Mentri Besar because we don’t see him doing his job on the ground,” he said.

       Tan said that like him, other assemblymen were surely bombarded with questions from constituents on the slow pace of the vaccination process, measures taken to handle the pandemic, or when more economic sectors are able to operate and so forth.

       “As the Malay proverb goes, ‘Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi’ (we depend on the fence, yet the fence eats the padi).

       “Here, I would like to add another line: ‘Harapkan exco, exco mana pergi’ (we depend on the exco, but where did he go)?” he added.

       Tan said about 500,000 people had yet to be vaccinated in Perak and that compared to other states, Perak was third from the bottom after Sabah and Kelantan in terms of the vaccination process.

       “I suggest setting up a special health select committee. If the health exco cannot do his job, there should be a reshuffle to get someone who can do a better job,” he added.Lee said he was not criticising the exco just for the sake of criticism, but because he was nowhere to be seen during such a critical time.

       “People are suffering not only due to the virus, but also the economy. But what we see is the Mentri Besar doing the job of the health exco,” he added.

       He said many issues needed to be tackled on the ground, but the exco was not playing his part.

       He said there were cases of senior citizens who could not make it to their vaccination appointments as they were given short notice and depended on their children for transportation.

       “There are also cases of people getting appointments far away from their homes. Not everyone is able to travel that far,” Asmuni said.

       During a reply to a written question earlier, Saarani said Perak was expected to attain herd immunity by October.

       He said to enhance the Covid-19 National Vaccination Programme, the state government was assessing a proposal to set up 12 more new vaccination centres and upgrade the existing three centres.

       He said depending on the supply of vaccines, the state’s vaccination process was expected to be completed by November.