JOHOR BARU: Groups deemed as “stateless” or of refugee status should also be vaccinated in efforts to curb Covid-19 infections, says community leader Datuk Md Jais Sarday (pic).

       For instance, he said, there was a sizeable Rohingya community living in Johor Baru and Kulai.

       “These people must not be allowed to fall between the cracks when it comes to vaccination.

       “Without proper identity cards or birth certificates, they will not be able to get mobile lines to register themselves using the MySejahtera app for vaccination. What will happen to them?” he asked.

       In the case of the Rohingya community, Md Jais said many of them are holding United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards and doing odd jobs to earn a living.

       “Now that the cases in the state are on the rise, the government should consider working with the UNHCR to get them inoculated,” he said in an interview.

       Jais is the Umno division chief of Kluang, a town known to have a community of stateless people or refugees.

       He said there was a need to expand Covid-19 testing and contact tracing besides getting people to isolate themselves to tackle the pandemic in Johor.

       Johor Indian Business Association (Jiba) president P. Sivakumar agreed that the vaccination programme should be extended to cover everyone.

       “I did checks at several eateries and many shops employ workers who are mostly foreigners.

       “I’m shocked to learn that they have yet to be vaccinated.

       “Why should this situation arise when there are walk-in clinics to get vaccinated?” he asked.