LETTER | With infection rates hitting an all-time national high and about half of them in Selangor, it is time the Selangor government started taking pro-active measures to deal with the situation, which is causing tremendous hardship to the people due to the tougher and stricter enhanced movement control order (EMCO), with a wide range of industries and commercial operations grinding to a halt.

As the most populous state in the country, Selangor must put more pressure on the federal government to increase the amount of vaccines available and the number of vaccination centres, especially in the sub-districts, housing estates, kampungs, industrial zones and SME hubs. The state must also use halls and schools to speed up the vaccination process, besides roping in vans and buses to be used as mobile vaccination clinics.

This is the only sure way to bring down the infection rates.

The condition that one has to register only under MySejahtera to get vaccinated must be scrapped. All that citizens need to do is show their identity cards and they can be vaccinated and given a document stating that they have received the first dose. The date for the second dose can also be recorded in the document. This should be a simple process as every relevant information is now computerised.

The first mistake the government made was it did not hasten the pace of vaccination when the first batch of vaccines arrived in February. The next mistake was the insistence on setting up mega vaccination centres that slowed down vaccination due to the high demand and the delay in the bureaucratic process. The third mistake was the issue of priorities as to who should be vaccinated in the earlier rounds.

In fact, mega vaccination centres became congested due to the large crowds converging at specific sites. It is always better to have small centres where fewer people can come for vaccination.

What was the purpose of the mega vaccination centres? Was it to show the world that Malaysia was vaccinating its people? No other country in the world has opted for this ludicrous system, which is also costly in terms of transport. Vaccines should be taken to the people, not the other way round.

The federal government needs to give more preference to Selangor as the state has continuously high infection rates. Besides, the longer the EMCO persists in Selangor, not only the state but the country will experience a sharp economic decline.

The continuously high infection rates in Selangor - about half the national total - are giving the federal government a negative image at controlling the pandemic, and have led to calls for a change in the administration. Priority for vaccination should be given to congested and densely populated states like Selangor and Kuala Lumpur and not sparsely populated states like Kelantan and Sarawak.

The Selangor government should direct all the local authorities to start sanitising places where large number of people queue up in places under the essential category such as wet markets, retail outlets, restaurants, food courts etc.

Last year, during the lockdown, many public areas were sanitised on a large scale but it is not happening anymore despite the high infection rates in Selangor.

Despite the EMCO, public areas should be kept clean as municipal contractors and workers have to do the tasks they are paid for. Sanitising public congested areas helps as can be seen in many countries where there is a resurgence of the pandemic.

The Selangor authorities must ensure that markets are spick and span and contribute to the control of infection rates. Municipal contractors and others must monitor to ensure that their workers are dutifully doing their jobs and not demanding money from residents and shopowners to clean up the public areas.

The Selangor government has a duty to the people to help them during the MCO and the EMCO as a large number in the B40 group are facing hardship without jobs or have reduced incomes. These people need help from the state government.

The federal government is helping out with various schemes, the latest being Pemulih. It was recently reported that the state government had allocated about RM500 million for various assistance schemes in Selangor. However, nothing more is known about it.

It is time the Selangor government helped the people and private-sector workers, who have made Selangor the richest and most developed state in the country. The government must also spare a thought for the millions of foreign workers as well as refugees - Rohingyas and others - in the state as most of them are now without work due to the latest restrictions. Some form of help in the form of food baskets can be delivered to them via their employers or through other means.

Now is the time for the state government to show its gratitude to both - locals and foreigners- in Selangor by helping them during this time of hardship caused by the Covid 19 pandemic.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.