Malaysia Needs Broad-based Policy-making to Beat Pandemic and Save Livelihood

15 June, 2021

Malaysia needs broad-based policy-making to beat pandemic and save livelihood

Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) calls for the broadening of political base for government policies to be competent, comprehensive and coherent to beat the Covid-19 pandemic and save livelihood of Malaysians. This is best achieved by a “confidence and supply agreement” (CSA) between the government and opposition parties to effect a political ceasefire and restore political stability.

Instead of overcoming the political crisis since February 2020, the Emergency has severely weakened Malaysia’s response to the pandemic in two ways.

First, the questionable majority of the Government preserved by the Emergency has resulted in insular and narrow-based policy-making, marked by blindspots, incoordination and disconnect from the public.

Second, the suspension of parliamentary oversight has worsened the “dua darjat” phenomenon, double-standard in law-enforcement and queue-jumping in vaccination and fueled public discontentment giving rise to suspicion of corruption when the government seems underperforming and incapable to solve many issues of NIP implementation since the programme started more than 3 months ago.

GBM calls upon the Government and Opposition parties to express their willingness to enter a CSA that

• paves way for broadbased policy making and parliamentary oversight through a reopened and empowered parliament with every ministry scrutinized by a parliamentary select committee and every opposition MP and government backbencher sitting on at least one such committee;
• ensures political stability for an extended period before a pre-agreed date for the 15th General Election (GE15) so that all parties and MPs can concentrate on policies instead of electioneering;
• ensures equitable treatment of all MPs in committee appointment and constituency allocation, and from selective prosecution.

GBM finds the idea of unity government both inviable and undesirable. Extensive reshuffling of cabinet and inter-party negotiation for ministerial portfolios will likely cause more inter-party and inter-personal power struggle than reducing it, hence first causing more disunity. And in the unlikely event of success, an all-party unity government also means no opposition and weaker parliamentary oversights.

GBM opposes the idea of a National Operations Council (MAGERAN), which will further narrow instead of broadening the political base of policy-making. An unelected body consisting one or few politicians with the heads of civil service, military and police has no democratic legitimacy. Any misstep by MAGERAN may trigger a colossal public backlash that erodes the legitimacy of the bureaucracy, security forces and even the constitutional monarchy.

Issued by
Badlishah Sham Baharin,
Chair, Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM)
For and on behalf of the Executive Council, GBM

 

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3698154916957919&id=163726347067478

Response to Asia Sentinel Article

17 January 2020

I am neither an educationalist nor an academician privy to the on-goings or politics in the Ministry of Education (MOE). Notwithstanding, my training as a clinician allowed me to diagnose a vengeful and dysfunctional personality trait after perusing the style and tone of his writings.
https://www.asiasentinel.com/society/islamic-assault-malaysia-higher-education/

To begin with, the writer, in his tweet dated 5/11/2015 alleged that he was dismissed from Universiti Malaysia Perlis. He also attached a letter from the university authorities dated 8/9/2015, informing him of the non-renewal of his contract service which expired on 4/8/2015. So much for his honesty and integrity in his narrative.

Is it therefore any surprise that a colleague who first shared the asiasentinel article with me was put off after reading the initial few lines?

It would seem that his source, a former vice-chancellor (VC), probably had an axe to grind. His VC source was very likely a political VC appointee of the previous BN minister of education. Back then, meritocracy was virtually an unknown entity, and the VC selection process was based on “who you know” and not on “what you know”

The selection of VCs has changed since the days of the BN rule. After various feedback from academia and a town hall session in mid July 2018, a new selection process and system were introduced.

The MOE’s independent VC Selection Committee made their recommendations based on a set of core criteria namely, academic excellence, meritorious scholarship, visionary and intellectual leadership.

To suggest the selection process was instead hijacked by the candidate’s religiosity and affiliation with the minister, other religious personalities or groupings is damning the impartiality and wisdom of the esteemed members of the VC Selection Committee.

The Malaysian Academic Movement (Gerak) in no uncertain terms debunked similar suggestions made by Sabahan political parties upon the appointment of Prof Taufik Yap Yun Hin’s as Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s (UMS) VC.

In their 11 August 2019 press release they stated; “Gerak knows of the quality and integrity of individuals in the (VC) committee and stands by their decision.”

The allegations of the writer smacks of disinformation and malice, let alone being “Evidence Based Research”

Prof Tan Sri Dr Ghauth Jasmon, the newly appointed chairman of UPM’s Board of Directors, in his immediate response to the malicious article wrote; “But for the writer or anyone to allege that I am a loyalist to the former Education Minister, IKRAM etc shocked me beyond belief. The writer is nothing but the best of a SLANDERER that I have known. I leave the matter to Allah, the Supreme Creator and Supreme Judge.”

Unlike the writer, I took the trouble to do a little bit of homework to track the affiliations of the 26 alleged “members of Ikram that Maszlee appointed to Malaysian public universities.”

According to Ikram sources, only six (23%) of those appointed by Dr. Maszlee are registered as members of Ikram. The rest are probably scratching their heads wondering when they filled the Borang Keahlian Ikram! The accusation that the Minister had been favoring and appointing Ikram members is therefore an outright lie.

Probably the only grain of truth in the writer’s long diatribe against Ikram is his suggestion that the; “Ikram leadership, which also appears to be strongly aligned with the Pakatan Harapan government.”

Since the historical electoral events of May 2018, elements of the “deep state” have been on overdrive to malign and undermine the PH government efforts towards nation re-building.

The education ministry, then under Maszlee Malik was a soft and oft-target of these despicable characters and their accomplices. Besides, the Education Ministry sits on a gold mine, RM64.1 billion to be exact, which under Maszlee’s minister-ship, none of these scumbags and cronies could smell a penny. Virtually all the funds were disbursed towards the transformation of the educational infrastructure including wiring them with fast and reliable ICT infrastructure to enhance digital teaching and learning.

Only after his resignation were his detractors, who were foolishly obsessed with the paradigm of black shoes, Khat and Jawi, became cognizant of the overwhelming success of his on the grounds reforms which had benefitted the school going children, university students, relieved the teachers of irrelevant clerical tasks, pleased the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) and Parent-Teachers Associations. Most importantly, the core values of happiness, love and mutual respect (which is so much missing among the many supposedly adult Malaysians) were being mainstreamed as a pre-requisite towards rejuvenating a harmonious and muhibbah future Malaysia.

Ikram, then Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) in the 1970s, had invested big time in the educational sector and have built educational institutions from pre-school to university and medical school programs. As suggested by the writer, they were aligned with the PH and therefore were a natural partner of the ex-minister in his mission and vision to reform the nation’s educational landscape.

Like us in the Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF), Ikram was one of the founding members of Gabungan Bertindak Malayisa (GBM) aka Plan Of Action for Malaysia (POAM) which is a closely knitted coalition of over 25 NGOs from various ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds united and committed to address the critical challenges facing 21st century Malaysia and working together to nurture trust and mutual respect of the other, to harness the potential of the various communities, to inspire a common national goal and to achieve a harmonious co-existence which would enhance national growth and prosperity for all.

Ikram’s Zaid Kamaruddin is currently the chairman of GBM, which truly is a microcosm of Malaysia. And most recently, to defuse the war of words over Jawi, GBM organized the “Forum Jawi: Saling Memahami” which among others was attended by the now Director General of the MOE, who according to the chairperson of the Forum “very kindly came down to speak (at very short notice) at the Jawi Forum we organized, and impressed many with her professionalism”

The writer’s unveiled attempt to frame Ikram as an extremist organization bent on a crusade of Islamisation and proselytisation is yet another machination of the “deep state” through its servile agents to abuse the religious narrative to destabilize the nation.

It wasn’t too difficult to expose and debunk the religious non-sense promulgated by this news portal. They were also reporting on a load of medical non-sense. Our medical colleagues in Prince Court Medical Centre suffered gross injustice with irresponsible journalism from the same news portal.
https://www.asiasentinel.com/society/medical-malpractice-nightmare-malaysia/
I would therefore advise all readers to be wary of news emanating from this particular news portal.

Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin
musamn@gmail.com
Muslim Professionals Forum

Refugees 1,400 years ago

It was in the early years of Rasulullah’s ﷺ mission. The pagans of Makkah would torture the Muslims every chance they got. It became so bad that Rasulullah ﷺ suggested some of them migrate to Abyssinia or Ethiopia as it is known today. It is not very far from Makkah and its King, known as the Najashi, was just and fair. He was a Christian.

It wasn’t easy. They were leaving behind the only home they knew, their family and friends and all that they held dear. They also did not know how long they would be away for or if they would be back. Najashi welcomed them and finally, they were free from persecution. Free to worship in peace.

But the pagans of Makkah weren’t gonna sit quiet. They had that one trait, we still see today. Dengki! They couldn’t bear the thought of this small group of Muslims living peacefully. They sent 2 reps with specific orders.

“By hook or by crook, get the Najashi to expel them!”

One of the reps was Amr al As (ra) who later became a Muslim himself. He was a good negotiator and knew the Najashi very well. He brought along gifts as bribe (familiar?).

When he saw Najashi he said,

“O King, the people you have given shelter to are troublemakers. Expel them before they bring you problems.”

But the King was fair remember? He said “not without hearing their side.”

The leader of the Muslims was Ja’far ibn Abu Talib (ra). How I love this character. He was Rasulullah’s ﷺ cousin and Ali’s (ra) older brother.

The Najashi then asked Ja’far to explain himself. Now, Ja’far’s reply remains one of the most beautiful descriptions of Islam. You can look it up or message me and I’ll send it to you.

Primarily, Ja’far said, when they became Muslims, the pagans of Makkah began their torture and abuse and prevented them from practicing Islam freely. So they chose the land of the Najashi, as they knew they could live in peace.

What did Najashi then do? He turned to Amr and basically said,

“pack your bags, take your gifts and go back. No way am I expelling these people. They are free to live and worship in my land.”

Amr tried again the following day but failed to convince the Najashi.

The Muslims lived peacefully in Abyssinia for many years. In fact they only joined Rasulullah ﷺ 7 years after he migrated to Madina. This tells us that they were in no danger at all in Najashi land.

Now when we hear this story, we applaud Najashi right? What a man! He saved a group of Muslims. Had he sent them back, their lives would have certainly been in danger.

Fast forward to 2021. Millions of refugees are fleeing for their lives, seeking safety. Some are here on our shores. Do you think it’s easy leaving their homeland? To a place unknown? And worse, hostile.

But they had to make that journey because their homes are no longer safe. They’re here because they need protection and we are in a position to provide that.

And how do we react? Just like Amr and the pagans of Makkah. We want to send them back to their tormentors, to their deaths.

How can we champion the human rights of one group of people and spit on another? If we stand against oppression, it’s gotta be for all oppressed people. If we stand in solidarity with those whose lives are made a living hell, then their skin colour, nationality, ethnicity, religion make no difference.

Where’s our humanity?

Where’s the Najashi in us? Where?

We are so messed up.

Azra Banu
Chairperson
Carefugees

#seerahchronicles
#theseerahandlifetoday

Invitation to the People’s Health Forum Virtual PC on the Petition to Prime Minister, tomorrow 10am

Dear friends,

Thank you for your kind support and endorsement of the petition initiated by the People’s Health Forum addressing to the Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. Very good responses we have received so far, 81 organisations/groups and 70 individuals have endorsed the statement (please refer to the list below – if found any mistake please inform us).

This is probably a good beginning to show that Malaysian society and people do care and concern about this issue, the government should not continue with the arrest operation of undocumented migrants.

We would like to invite you, as the endorsers, to the press conference (PC) tomorrow morning at 10am. The petition itself will be delivered to the Prime Minister’s Office in the morning before the PC. We will reveal and read out the petition during the PC, then the floor is open to you , whoever is interested to give a short speech.

To facilitate the process, if you would like to attend the PC and/or would like to speak, please indicate your interest with us by replying to this email. The link to the event will be provided later. The live broadcast of this PC will be also carried via the People’s Health Forum Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Peopleshealthforum.msia

Let’s meet tomorrow morning at 10am!

Thank you very much.

Yours truly,
Lim Chee Han
On behalf of the People’s Health Forum
014-9272586

Senarai sokongan / List of endorsement:

Organisasi/ Organisation:
1. People’s Health Forum (Forum Kesihatan Rakyat)
2. Citizens’ Health Initiative
3. Agora Society Malaysia
4. Third World Network
5. Health Equity Initiatives
6. Parti Sosialis Malaysia
7. Aliran
8. All Women’s Action Society (AWAM)
9. Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP Malaysia)
10. ALTSEAN-Burma
11. Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM)
12. Archdiocesan Human Development Commission (AHDC)
13. Asylum Access Malaysia
14. Beyond Borders Malaysia
15. Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
16. Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED)
17. Consumers Association of Penang (CAP)
18. Demokrat Kebangsaan
19. Dewan Perhimpunan China Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor (KLSCAH)
20. ENGAGE
21. Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants & Itinerants (ECMI)
22. Family Frontiers
23. Forum Ekonomi Manusiawi
24. Fugee
25. G25 Malaysia
26. Gabungan Serikat Buruh Indonesia (GSBi)
27. GERAK
28. Geutanyoe Foundation
29. Humanity Heroes Foundation
30. IMAN Research
31. In Between Cultura
32. Institute for Leadership and Development Studies
33. International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
34. Islamic Renaissance Front
35. Jaringan kampung Orang Asli Semenanjung Malaysia
36. Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (JERIT)
37. Koalisi Buruh Migran Berdaulat
38. Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Bina Karya Utama (LBH-BKU)
39. Liga Rakyat Demokratik
40. LLG Cultural Development Centre
41. Mahasiswa Amanah Nasional
42. Mahasiswa Keadilan Malaysia
43. Majlis Kebajikan Kanak-kanak Malaysia (MKKM)
44. Malaysia Hindu Sangam
45. Malaysian CARE
46. Malaysian Health Coalition
47. Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA)
48. Migrant Workers Right to Redress Coalition
49. Muslim Professionals Forum
50. MyPJ
51. New Student Movement Alliance of Malaysia (NESA)
52. North South Initiative
53. Our Journey
54. PACOS Trust
55. Pemuda Sosialis
56. People Like Us Support Ourselves (PLUsos)
57. Persatuan Kebajikan Anak Anak Miskin Sabah
58. Persatuan Kebajikan Biji Sawi (Mustard Seed Soup Kitchen)
59. Persatuan Kebajikan Komuniti Dan Dialog
60. Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor
61. Pertubuhan IKRAM Malaysia
62. Pertubuhan Jaringan Orang Asli Johor (JPOAJ)
63. PeSAWAH
64. Prison Fellowship Malaysia Sabah
65. Projek Wawasan Rakyat (POWR)
66. Pusat Komas
67. Refuge For The Refugees
68. Sabah Reform Initiative (SARI)
69. Sahabat Alam Malaysia
70. Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM)
71. Serikat Buruh Migran Indonesia (SBMI) Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT)
72. Sisters in Islam
73. Stairway to Hope
74. Student Progressive Front UUM
75. Student Unity Front UKM
76. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
77. Tenaganita
78. Tindak Malaysia
79. Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of KL (TRCAKL)
80. Together Against Cancer (TAC)
81. UMANY

Individual / Individu:
1. Abu Mufakhir
2. Ahmad Kamal
3. Ananti Rajasingam
4. Andrew Khoo
5. Anthony David
6. Arief Subhan
7. Arutchelvan
8. Bernice Ho
9. Bin Rites
10. Celine Khoo
11. Charles Bertille
12. Cikgu Mohd Azmi b Abdul Hamid
13. CR Selva
14. Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
15. Dato M. Ramachelvam
16. Dato Noor Aziah Mohd Awal
17. Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan
18. Datuk Dr Anwar Fazal
19. Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon
20. Dr Ayesah Uy Abubakar
21. Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj
22. Dr Lee Boon Chye
23. Dr Ryan Chua
24. Elain Lockman
25. Elaine Lau
26. Faisal Tehrani
27. Hamidon Ali
28. Hana Maisurah
29. Hartini Zainudin
30. Heidy Quah Gaik Li
31. Hew Kuen Hin
32. Jarud Romadan
33. Jeremy Kwan
34. K. Jeyaraj
35. Kelvin Soimin
36. Lilian Si
37. Lim Siew Kiau
38. Linda Lumayag
39. Loh Jon Ming
40. LY Phang
41. Lynn Tung
42. M.Pusenthi P.Maniam
43. Mahirah Hanis
44. Mary Shanthi Dairiam
45. Mohd Nadzir bin Mohd Nordin
46. Muhammad Sha’ani bin Abdullah
47. Mui Mei Moon
48. Nazihah Muhamad Noor
49. Ng Peng Wah
50. Nik Elin Zurina Bt Nik Abdul Rashid
51. Ooi Vern Hau
52. Peter Pang
53. Prof Shad Saleem Faruki
54. Pua Lay Peng
55. Ronnie Hii
56. Saha Deva A. Arunasalam
57. Salina Hussein
58. Sangeeta choudhury
59. Sivarajan A
60. Sunita Rajakumar
61. Surina Shukri
62. Teng Pooi Kui
63. Teoh Siang Chin
64. Thamboo Devaraj
65. Veronica Anne Retnam
66. Victoria Ng Yiow Kheng
67. Vizla Kumaresan
68. Yap Heng Lung
69. Zahid Alom
70. Zhen Ling Ong

GBM STATEMENT ON THE CEASEFIRE OF THE ISRAEL – HAMAS CONFLICT

22 May, 2021

GBM STATEMENT ON THE CEASEFIRE OF THE ISRAEL – HAMAS CONFLICT

In the spirit of unity in diversity and towards building an inclusive humanity, Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire between the two conflicting parties. GBM also strongly condemns all forms of aggressions and appeals to the Israeli and Hamas governments to observe their cease-fire and make efforts beyond the restoration of calm to start a serious dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict.

The bloodshed and violence must be seen past religious Muslim-Jew lenses; it is at its core a humanitarian crisis and local geo-political contestations. The barbarous acts are an outrage to the conscience of mankind and undermines the respect for human rights for all people affected and threatens the sanctity of universal human dignity.

Unconscionable deaths were caused both in Gaza from Israeli air strikes, and in Israel viz-a-viz the rockets launched from Gaza. There were also violent clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where Palestinian families are under threat of eviction.  In Israel, violence by vigilante-style groups and mobs has added another horrendous dimension to the crisis. In this regard, the use of force by both governments against each other’s territorial integrity and political independence is condemned, especially when indiscriminately used on civilians and children.

The fighting unleashed an unprecedented scale of security and humanitarian crisis and may consequentially spur extremist activities around the world. Therefore, the international community must make more effective efforts to curb inflammatory rhetoric. In fact, both sides of the divide must strive for an effective peace process.

In this regard, Israel must comply with existing UN resolutions and not pursue further their indiscriminate expansionists policy. Likewise, Hamas must desist from further deploying arms and violence.

We urge all to pray for the wellbeing of all people in the region in the aftermath of the conflict and war.

 

Issued by

Badlishah Sham Baharin,

Chair, Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM)

For and on behalf of the Executive Council, GBM

Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia(GBM)
Plan of Action for Malaysia  (PoAM)
马来西亚行动方略联盟(行动方略联盟)

First Floor, No. 1, Jln Maharajalela, 50150 Kuala Lumpur.

Phone: 03 2272 3594/017 3985 606     Fax:03 2272 4089

Email: infogpoam@gmail.com

Website: www.gbm.org.my

Together We Build A Better Malaysia!

Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia(GBM)
Plan of Action for Malaysia  (PoAM)
马来西亚行动方略联盟(行动方略联盟)

First Floor, No. 1, Jln Maharajalela, 50150 Kuala Lumpur.

Phone: 03 2272 3594/017 3985 606     Fax:03 2272 4089

Email: infogpoam@gmail.com

Website: www.gbm.org.my

Together We Build A Better Malaysia!

Is the First Come First Served Vaccine Rollout Scientifically and Ethically Right?

Is the First Come First Served Vaccine Rollout Scientifically and Ethically Right?
Dr Musa Mohd Nordin
5 May 2021

This narrative may not go down very well with the many young Malaysians who have successfully secured their AstraZeneca-University Oxford (AZ)  doses.

It was a frantic scrambling by the tech-savvy for the 268,000 doses of the AZ vaccine. All vaccine doses were snapped within a space of 4 hours.

Now that they have jumped the queue, some of them have even begun to rationalize the legitimacy of the first come first served vaccine roll out!

Due to the limited supplies of vaccines, like all other global health authorities and agencies, the MOH and JKJAV phased the vaccine rollout based on three major considerations.

  1. To protect and preserve the functioning of our society, namely the healthcare and essential services
  2. To decrease serious COVID disease and deaths by as much as is possible
  3. Reduce the added burden of COVID disease on people facing disparities

These considerations are premised on 4 major ethical principles:

  1. The allocation of the scarce vaccine supplies should aim towards maximizing the benefits and minimizing the harms. The reduction of COVID-associated morbidity and mortality would reduce the burden on the healthcare capacity. The most vulnerable in terms of inevitable work exposure and the other high-risk groups for COVID should be determined by scientific evidence.
  2. To promote justice to advance equal opportunity for all persons to enjoy maximal health and wellbeing as vaccines become more widely available.
  3. To mitigate health inequities and allow every person the opportunity to attain his or her full health potential and is not disadvantaged due to any social determinants.
  4. To promote transparency in the decision-making process to inspire public trust in the implementation of the vaccine rollout.

Pivoting on these incontrovertible principles, during the period of limited vaccine supply, the MOH and JKJAV have identified 5 major groups:

  1. Healthcare Workers
  2. Critical and Essential Services Personnel
  3. Senior Citizens
  4. Person with Co-Morbidities
  5. Physically and Intellectually Challenged Persons (OKU)

One does not sacrifice pristine ethical values simply based on a perception that there is “public fear over the AZ vaccine” because “we understand that is what the public feels”. [1]

Where may I ask is the scientific evidence to substantiate this personal perception? From the very outset, there has always been a substantial proportion of the citizens who have been either vaccine-hesitant or resistant. (Graph I). This has remained fairly consistent for the period Dec-Feb 2021 (Graph II)

Graph I: Malaysians’ acceptance of COVID-19 Immunization

GRAPH I: Malaysians agreeable to be immunized against COVID-19 for the period Dec – Feb 2021

The FDA paused the J&J vaccine (adenoviral vector mode of action like the AZ vaccine) for 10 days to investigate the possible link with blood clots.[2] Unlike JKJAV, they undertook a 50 state COVID survey which showed that:

  1. There was high awareness of the J&J vaccine pause
  2. Vaccine hesitancy and refusal did not increase
  3. The pause did not have any major negative effects on vaccine preferences and attitudes

During the period Dec 2020 – April 2021, when the AZ and J&J vaccines were being investigated, except for the UK, overall, there was no decrease in vaccine acceptance in 8 European countries  [3]

It would seem that the scientific studies and surveys do not validate the presumptions of the MOH or the JKJAV. But if they insist that the socio-demography of the vaccine-hesitant/resistant persons in Malaysia are diametrically different from their fraternity in the US and 8 other European countries, then they ought to provide us with the evidence.

The CDC and FDA paused the use of the J&J vaccine, following reports of 6 cases (1 fatal) of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) with thrombocytopenia, on 13 April 2021 and promptly issued a health alert. [4]

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met the following day, illustrating a sense of urgency to investigate the association of the J&J vaccine with the blood clots aka Thrombocytosis Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS).

Within ten days, the ACIP presented its findings and recommended to the CDC to lift the pause on the J&J vaccine for use in adults.

We are made to understand that there was an assessment committee to review the AZ vaccine, its plausible association with TTS and its utilization in the Malaysian context. We would appreciate if the MOH or JKJAV can point us to the conclusions of the study and its recommendations. This is in part fulfillment of the ethical principle of transparency and accountability which would inspire confidence among the medical associations and professionals that a thorough analysis of the evidence has been undertaken and contextualized for PICK, National COVID-19 Immunization Program.

This would then facilitate an appropriate and comprehensive risk communications about the AZ vaccine. Some felt that this effort was not forthcoming from the nation’s highest health and vaccine authorities.

An individual who actually took the initiative to frame “KEY FAQS-A set of crucial questions you may want answered before deciding to opt-in or out of the AZ vaccine” wrote in his Twitter preamble “the health ministry couldn’t have been sloppier by just dumping a page of links at us.”

So what is the scientific and ethical basis for the MOH and JKJAV to offer the AZ vaccine  “on a first-come, first-served basis to the public aged above 18 who are willing to have it”? [1]

Britain has the largest experience with the AZ vaccine. More than 50 million doses have been utilized, a substantial proportion of which were AZ doses. [5].

Following the1st dose of the AZ vaccine in the elderly population, 90% of COVID-associated hospitalization had been reduced. One can clearly see from Figure I, that the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization prioritized the age group more than 65 for the AZ vaccine doses.

 

FIGURE I: Rollout of the Pfizer and AZ vaccines in Scotland.

And for the 4 months period from Dec 2020 – Mar 2021, the Public Health England estimated that 10,400 deaths have been prevented in persons above 60 years old in England. [7] The high Vaccine Efficacy claimed in the clinical trains have now been vindicated in the real-world experience.

With access to probably the largest data-set for the AZ vaccine rollout, the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, recommended, “based on available data and evidence, it was preferable for adults aged under 30 with no underlying conditions to be offered an alternative to the AZ vaccine where available” [8]

How does the MOH and JKJAV scientifically and ethically justify the AZ vaccine to young adults from 18-30 years old, considering that the UK with the largest and widest experience with it’s homegrown University of Oxford vaccine has advised otherwise?

An interim risk-benefit analysis of the AZ vaccine and TTS can be accessed here. [9]. It references the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which has meticulously analyzed the data to stratify the very rare risk of blood clots with the benefits for different age groups and COVID incidence rates. [10]

 

Table I: Summary of cases per 100,000 persons after 1 dose of AZ vaccine in a HIGH Infection Rate Country

Per 100,000 persons Under 50 years 50-69 years 70+ years
Risk of blood  clots 2 1 0.5
Hospitalizations prevented

 

89 266 893
ICU admissions

prevented

10 39 94
Deaths prevented 4 30 453

 

The 4-5 per million often touted is actually the risk of blood clots in persons beyond 70 years old as per the EMA analysis. The risk is actually 4 times higher in persons below 50 years of age i.e. 20 per million.

The risk of being admitted to hospital and of dying from COVID in a 70 year old is 1786 and 906 times respectively, when compared to the risk of suffering from a blood clot.

Thus my suggestion to prioritize the AZ vaccine rollout in the high infection rate states, namely Sarawak, Kelantan, KL and Selangor, with the first right of refusal to the groups at the highest risk of severe COVID disease and deaths, i.e. those above 60 years old. Only when these high-risk elders have been protected, then the AZ vaccine can be offered to others. This makes medical sense and it is the ethically right response, within the context of limited vaccine supplies and the presently known risk benefit analysis.

It is probably the less than impressive odds in the younger age groups that have persuaded many health authorities in European countries to reserve the AZ vaccines for those beyond 50 years old. [11,12,13] Unless the MOH and JKJAV has evidence to the contrary, the deluge of young would be vaccinees may precipitate a more than usual load of life threatening TTS into our already overwhelmed healthcare facilities.

 

References:

  1. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/astrazenecca-vaccine-dropped-covid19-immunisation-programme-says-khairy-jamaluddin
  2. https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2021/han00442.asp
  3. https://osf.io/j5hf2/
  4. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mariefly/HOPE/master/The_Development_in_Vaccine_Acceptance_20210421.pdf
  5. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51768274
  6. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00677-2/fulltext
  7. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-vaccines-have-prevented-10-400-deaths-in-older-adults
  8. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britains-medicine-regulator-says-identified-possible-side-effect-2021-04-07/
  9. https://fimaweb.net/astrazeneca-risk-benefit-analysis-of-vaccines-versus-blood-clots/
  10. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/astrazenecas-covid-19-vaccine-benefits-risks-context
  11. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-restricts-use-of-astrazeneca-vaccine-to-over-60s-in-most-cases/a-57049301
  12. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/19/france-limits-astrazeneca-covid-jab-to-over-55s-despite-ema-green-light
  13. https://www.ft.com/content/3dd76041-d8ac-4465-99a5-4569e8b9706e

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pemeliharaan Nyawa adalah Tuntutan Maqasid Shari’ah

Pemeliharaan Nyawa adalah Tuntutan Maqasid Shari’ah

Dr Musa Mohd Nordin

20 March 2021

 

Acap kali dunia Islam digoncang dengan berita yang boleh mengancam keyakinan ummat Islam terhadap vaksin COVID yang boleh menyelamat nyawa manusia. [1]

Di Malaysia sahaja terdapat 330 ribu kes COVID yang menyebabkan 1225 kematian (19 March 2021)

Dan angka dunia bagi kes COVID adalah sebanyak 123 juta dan 2.7 juta kematian. [2]

Apakah ini tidak cukup untuk meyakinkan kita bahawa setiap usaha untuk memelihara dan mencegah berlakunya kes dan kematian daripada penyakit COVID sepatutnya diraikan.

Tidakkah ini suatu usaha insan yang murni untuk menyahut panggilan Ilahi didalam Surah Al-Maidah, ayat 32?

Barangsiapa memelihara kehidupan seorang manusia, maka seakan-akan dia telah memelihara kehidupan semua manusia.

 

Bukankah jihad untuk memelihara nyawa manusia keutamaan kedua selepas memelihara agama didalam Maqasid Shari’ah (keutamaan Shari’ah) [3]

Lagipun isu penggunaan bahan haram didalam perubatan merupakan isu yang lapuk yang telah pun dikaji dan dirumus oleh ulama Islam yang tersohor  didunia.

Semasa dunia memerangi pandemik polio, Majlis Fatwa dan Kajian Eropah (ECFR) yang dipengerusikan oleh Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, bersama lebih daripada 100 ulama terkemuka Islam telah pun membincangkan tentang pengunaan enzim Trypsin didalam pembuatan vaksin polio.

Berikut adalah rumusan daripada fatwa yang telah dikeluarkan oleh Majlis Fatwa dan Kajiaan Eropah:[4]

  1. Apa yang dilarang oleh ugama kita ialah pemakanan khinzir, dan enzim Trypsin tiada kena mengena dengan pemakanan khinzir
  2. Jika kita masih menganggap enzim Trypsin sebagai haram, ketahui bahawa,  bahan enzim Tryspin yang digunakan untuk membuat vaksin teramat kecil. Dan jika kita guna pakai kaedah fiqh “2 qollah air boleh sucikan najis” maka sudah pasti enzim Trypsin ini telah pun suci dengan cecair didalam badan kita yang melebehi 2 qollah.
  3. Lagipun, enzim Trypsin ini telah pun ditapis dengan sepenuhnya dan tiada terdapat enzim Trypsin didalam vaksin yang dihasilkan
  4. Jika kesemua dalil ini tidak diterima, maka ketahui bahwa didalam keadaan darurat, bahan yang haram dibenarkan oleh Shari’ah agama kita.

 

Enzim Trypsin diguna untuk membelah protin kepada unit yang kecil. Ia juga mengaktifkan virus dan mengasingkannya dari cell kultur. Amat sedikit sahaja enzim Trypsin yang diguna pakai.

Ia diproses dengan sinar gamma supaya bersih

Selepas fungsinya tamat, ia ditapis sehingga tiada lagi terdapat didalam vaksin yang dijana.

Khinzir diplih kerana ia selamat daripada penyakit Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (Cow Mad Disease) yang boleh menyebabkan jangkitan didalam otak manusia.

Majlis Fatwa dan Kajian Eropah juga menyeru kepada Majlis Fatwa yang lain dan juga ketua negara supaya lebih cermat didalam menangani vaksin polio yang terbukti menyelamat nyawa kanak dan mencegah mereka daripada terencat akal dan fizikal dan membawa kebaikan dan maslahah kepada kesihatan kanak sedunia.

Ia merupakan perkara khilafiah yang terbuka kepada pandangan yang berbeda. Dan kita yakin ia tidak bertentangan dengan nas yang qatie’ didalam Al-Quran dan Hadith Nabi (SAW)

Pengunaan enzim Trypsin juga telah saya kaji didalam pembuatan vaksin Rotavirus. Tanpa kecuali semua Majlis Fatwa sedunia membenarkan kaedah ini melainkan segelinitr Majlis Fatwa diAsia Tenggara, [5]

Saya ingin mengkahiri penulisan ini dengan peringatan berikut:

The Federation of Islamic Medical Associations (FIMA) has endeavoured to mainstream evidence based medicine (EBM) of the highest quality and which should henceforth  dictate our best clinical practices. And importantly, it is sanctioned as Shari’ah compliant by the highest authorities of jurisprudential scholarship among Muslim scholars world-wide.

This excellent collaboration of the best brains in medicine and jurisprudence has lightened the burden upon the Muslim Ummah (community). It has not only truly embraced the jurisprudence of facilitation (Fiqh Taysir) but also the jurisprudence of realities & priorities (Fiqh Waqi’ah) and the jurisprudence of balance (Fiqh Wasatiyah).

We urge the religious authorities to take cognisance of the invaluable heritage of medical fatwas that is before us and not attempt to reinvent the wheel. They should instead incorporate these shari’ah compliant best clinical practise into the corpus of our nation’s jurisprudence in medicine.

 

1. https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20210319114944-20-619537/mui-astrazeneca-tetap-boleh-digunakan-karena-darurat

2. https://www.outbreak.my/world

3. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/228816994.pdf

4. https://www.infosihat.gov.my/images/media_sihat/slaid/pdf/02_pelalian_pelindungan_ummah.pdf

5. http://mpf.org.my/wp/?p=1535