LABUAN: Labuan police will monitor closely the activities of a group on the island that is spreading propaganda against Covid-19 vaccines through various social media platforms.
Labuan Acting Police Chief DSP Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Ghani
(pic) said this would include taking action against any individuals or groups who use social media to spread inaccurate information on the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
“We will monitor the spread of inaccurate information with regard to this vaccination programme, and if there is a police report lodged, we will take immediate action against those involved,” he said at the Labuan Ferry Terminal after the arrival of the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine from Kota Kinabalu, Friday.
He said although “fervent anti-vaxxers” are a small minority, the monitoring was necessary as the programme is vital to establish herd immunity to beat the pandemic.
Mohd Ibrahim said anyone convicted of spreading anti-vaccine propaganda and misleading information could be jailed up to two years or fined, or both, under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998.
On the safety of the 4,680 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the vaccine storage centre of Labuan Hospital, he said the centre would be well guarded by police personnel round the clock.
“It is our responsibility to ensure the vaccination programme runs smoothly throughout the phases,” he said.
Meanwhile, the people of Labuan have been urged to update and register on the MySejahtera app for Covid-19 immunisation, as the international offshore financial centre aims to get the whole of its population of 103,000 vaccinated.
Labuan Natural Disaster Management Committee Chairman Rithuan Ismail said the committee would be working together with the people’s representative council (MPP), village heads and community leaders to make a great success of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme in Labuan.
“Even as anti-vaxxers are highlighting the rise of anti-vaccination sentiments, we are optimistic that Labuan folks are looking forward to the vaccination due to the highly transmissible disease and widespread infection.
“Although certain people are rejecting medical advice and putting their families and communities in harm’s way, we are making efforts for everyone on this island to get vaccinated to attain herd immunity,” he said.
He said an immunisation awareness drive would be launched in all 27 villages to get people to sign up for the programme, especially via the My Sejahtera app.
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