VACCINATION for undocumented migrants are done with the help of civil society groups, said Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

“We go through groups. This is one of many ways,” he told The Malaysian Insight today.

Noor Hisham was asked to comment on whether a procedure is in place for the vaccination of undocumented migrants as some may not come forward out of fear that they may face police or Immigration Department action.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has given his assurance on several occasions, most recently on September 24, that no action will be taken on undocumented migrants during vaccination.

His response came in the wake of the revelation that Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin, in a parliamentary written reply recently, said that the cabinet had agreed on July 30 that healthcare workers must notify security authorities if undocumented migrants are present in vaccination centres – in line with a 2001 circular issued by the Health Ministry.

However, the Health Ministry’s 20 year-old general circular, known as “10/2001”, remains a source of unease among migrant rights groups and undocumented migrants.

The circular issued by the then health director-general Dr Hj Mohamad Taha Arif instructed healthcare workers to report to police if they find any undocumented migrants seeking treatment at hospitals and health clinics. However, the necessary treatment must be administered first.

The Malaysian Medical Association said that reporting undocumented migrants who come forward to get vaccinated will only hamper the country’s goal of vaccinating everyone in the community.

The Malaysian Red Crescent Society recently told The Malaysian Insight that foreigners feel more confident getting vaccinated through programmes organised by charity groups with the assistance of migrant ethnic and community representatives.

Its secretary-general Hakim Hamzah said that undocumented migrants fear possible arrest by the authorities if they show up at public vaccination centres. – September 27, 2021.