KUCHING, June 17: Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) will continue with their initiative to transport needy members of the public to their Covid-19 vaccination appointments despite it being labeled as “cheap publicity”, says Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
In emphasising this, he said DAP teams have been offering such help to the people since the commencement of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NCIP) and the recent announcement to collaborate with the Kuching Taxi Association was due to increasing demand.
“We will continue to serve the people the best we can and make sure as many Sarawakians, especially the elderly and OKUs (persons with special needs) that are in high-risk (groups), get their vaccination as soon as possible and not miss their appointments.
“This initiative started since the beginning of the national vaccination programme to encourage people to sign up and to remove any obstacles especially the elderly from attending their appointments,” he said in a statement today.
He said many of the elderly have no transport to the vaccination centre as their children are either away in another town or state for work while some may need help in terms of language or mobility thus the need for a company during the registration and vaccination process.
“We have helped many that required special help including those suffering from Parkinson’s disease, different chronic diseases and those requiring wheelchairs.
“However due to increasing demands, we at DAP Sarawak discussed with the Taxi Association here in Kuching to help transport those who need transportation to their specific PPVs (vaccination centres) to-and-fro. The fees for the taxi will be fully paid by us,” he added.
Dr Yii also said he and his team would continue to personally transport those who may need special guidance and attention based on capacity and availability due to limited drivers at any one time.
As Sarawak DAP launched an initiative in collaboration with the Kuching Taxi Association to provide free rides for 100 people to their respective PPVs, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Youth secretary-general Milton Foo in a statement yesterday (June 16) termed it to be “just another publicity stunt”. — DayakDaily
