Elderly man in Kajang told to get jab in Bentong

AN elderly man who has been living in Kajang, Selangor, for the past 42 years was perplexed to find out that he is supposed to receive his first Covid-19 jab nearly 100km away in Bentong, Pahang, Sin Chew Daily reported.

According to his son, Tan Che Keng, 79, received notification on the MySejahtera app that his first jab was scheduled for 10am at Dewan Majlis Perbandaran Bentong on April 28.

“April 28 is a Wednesday and a working day. It takes a while to drive from Kajang to Bentong. To beat the morning traffic jam, we would have to leave early at 6am,” said the son, Tan Ke Liang.

Ke Liang said he was willing to drive his father to Bentong after obtaining a travel permit from the police but the old man was reluctant to travel that far just for a jab.

“We are trying to convince him to get the jab anyway. However, we are concerned that many of the elderly may have been scheduled to also get their vaccinations in a different state than the one they are living in.

“What happens if they do not have sons or daughters to take them there? We hope the government can look into this,” Ke Liang said.

> The daily also reported that educationist group Dong Zong has urged the government to prioritise teachers from private institutions, including religious schools and independent Chinese schools, in getting their Covid-19 vaccinations.

Its president Tan Tai Kim said teachers from private and public schools should be treated the same as both were regarded as frontliners.

“Teachers are all standing in the front line and are required to come in contact with many people when teaching.

“The government should treat teachers from both public and private schools equally.

“This means teachers from independent Chinese schools and religious schools should be given priority in getting their vaccinations,” he told the daily.

Tan praised the government for giving 55,539 teachers from public schools who have chronic illness priority in getting their jabs.

> According to Sin Chew Daily ,a man has finally received a reply from the Higher Education Ministry three years after sending a plea for the Unified Examinations Certificate (UEC) to be recognised.

His request was rejected on the grounds that the case was too old.

“Your request has been rejected as this is an old case and that matters regarding UEC falls under the purview of the Education Ministry,” the reply read.

The man sent the letter during the Pakatan Harapan administration on July 7, 2018, before finally receiving a reply on April 5, 2021.

He explained that the reason for sending the letter was to urge politicians to fulfil their election promises.