pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL
UP TO 28,000 government employees have chosen not to get vaccinated despite the government making it compulsory for all civil servants to get inoculated.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that the government has yet to take any disciplinary action on these employees.
“There is about 1.8% out of 1.6 million civil servants who have refused or have not gotten vaccinated, based on data from the Public Service Department (PSD).
“As at Nov 10, no disciplinary actions have been taken on the individuals,” he said in a response to a question from Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin who requested for the figure.
The government has made it mandatory for all government employees to be vaccinated by Nov 1 or risk facing disciplinary actions.
On Oct 18, 2021, PSD issued a circular stating that by or after Nov 1, officers may be instructed by the head of department (HoD) to obtain a complete dose of Covid-19 immunisation by submitting the Covid-19 digital vaccination certificate.
Actions may be taken on officers that fail to adhere to the instruction by their respective HoD including termination of service.
“To ensure a smooth implementation of the policy, HoDs can consider any suitable methods to manage officers that have not completed two doses of the vaccine including conducting Covid-19 tests,” he added.
He said HoDs must also issue a letter stating reasons for the refusal of vaccines among the officers. If unsatisfactory, a domestic enquiry committee and disciplinary committee will be formed for further actions to be taken.
Meanwhile, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that the government is holding discussions with local automotive players on the transition towards electric vehicle (EV) or energy efficient vehicle (EEV) to replace internal combustion engine vehicles.
“The transition to the EEV and EV industries must be made carefully to ensure adequate supply of energy.
“Therefore, the Economic Planning Unit is formulating a national energy policy to ensure the country’s supply of electricity can meet the demands of EV users as well as the industrial and household sectors,” he said.
He was replying to a supplementary question from Bachok MP Nik Mohamd Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz on the government’s strategy to attract investments in the EV components manufacturing sector as well as its plans to encourage existing local car manufacturers to develop EV and hybrid vehicles.
He added that there is a need to map out strategies to attract investments in the installation of components for the EV industry, which is in line with the National Investment Aspirations (NIA) approved by the government in April this year.
“In line with the NIA, a company from Korea has invested RM4.24 billion in Sabah this year to produce copper foil for the manufacturing and production of batteries for EV,” added Mohamed Azmin.
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