LETTER | DG says no allowances for volunteers; KJ says its allocated

LETTER | On May 27, the director-general of health made an urgent appeal on his Twitter account to medical professionals calling for them to volunteer their services to assist in battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his message, he mentioned that these volunteers must be willing to serve at required locations as well as must not have had a Covid-19 close contact case in the last 14 days.

He added all costs during the volunteering period would be borne by the individual themselves as the ministry would not be providing any transportation, lodging, food or allowances.

On April 21, minister-in-charge of the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) Khairy Jamaluddin provided a breakdown of how the government plans to spend its RM5 billion allocation for the programme comprising amongst other, the following - RM147 million as honoraria for health volunteers

And the DG in his appeal for volunteers is saying that the government is not providing anything for them? Or is RM147 million for volunteers who registered before the appeal by the DG?

The public deserves to know as are those who wish to volunteer in response to the call by the DG.

Critically, would these volunteers be vaccinated prior to them commencing their services? Obviously, they deserve to be given priority as compared to the calls by the various groups of professionals who claim their members play a vital role in the functioning of the country’s economy.

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