KUALA LUMPUR: The government is studying the possibility of allowing only children who have been immunised to enrol in schools.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the proposal would be studied in detail.
“That’s one of the things we are proposing, as part of prevention of diseases,” she told reporters after launching the Petronas Foundation here today.
On Monday, Bernama reported that several parties including the Malaysian Islamic Doctors Association (PERDIM) and Malaysia I-MEDIC had suggested the move to be implemented to protect children from preventable diseases such as diphtheria and measles.
This follows the death a two-year-old boy in Johor last week from what is believed to be diphtheria, since he had never been vaccinated since birth.
Five more children who were reported to have been in contact with the victim were also confirmed positive for diphtheria and were quarantined at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru.
Dr Wan Azizah, who is also Women, Family and Community Development Minister, said immunisation was safe and should not be doubted on its halal status as it had been verified.
She said the immunisation programme in 2017 reached 88 per cent of the original target at 95 per cent.
Earlier in her speech at the launch of the foundation, Dr Wan Azizah also called for closer collaboration between private and public sectors as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) towards effective social development.
“Inclusive social development becomes more impactful when we are aligned to a common cause. It is then that we harness the best we can offer,” she said.
She also commended Petronas’ contribution of RM83 million for the Imbak Canyon Studies Centre in Sabah which would serve as a research bank for biodiversity protection and conservation in the area.
Meanwhile, Petronas Foundation chairman Datuk Ahmad Nizam Salleh said the setting up of the foundation was aimed at streamlining all the corporate and social responsibility (CSR) work undertaken by the company. – Bernama