BY: BK TAN

Social media was all aflame with raging commentaries when it was discovered that some Malaysians who went for their vaccination were instead injected with empty syringes in a ‘cucuk angin’ (injecting air) exercise.

Very swiftly comments and views began to flow criticising and mocking the health minister who gave a lame excuse that it was a ‘human error’ and those who received the cucuk angin will be recalled and given their proper dose of vaccination.

The coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Program (NIP) stressed, however, that there were no links between complaints of empty syringes used for vaccination and the black market sale of vaccines.

That’s the feedback from the government but there were many spin off stories that alleged that this was an inside job and it was really a dirty deal which Malaysians were further saddled with besides having to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

It looks as if there were unscrupulous persons who were out to make money from the misery of Malaysians and the authorities were closing one eye on the go-ons.

Perhaps the most glaring and scathing revelation was made by the Federation of Malaysia Manufacturers (FMM) who estimated that there are about 6 million migrant workers in the country and of this number 4 million are illegal migrants.

It is these 4 million illegal migrant workers that form the customer base for black market activity in hawking vaccines to them and it is reportedly a thriving, booming market for the deal makers who sell vaccines meant for Malaysians to them.

Since these vaccines are not available through the proper channels to these illegal migrant workers they estimatedly purchase these vaccines at a conservative figure of RM 300 immediately creating a value of RM 1.2 billion in the black market.

If each scheming frontliner were to cheat on 50 vaccines in a day by giving a ‘cucuk angin’ shot and sell the vaccine at RM 50 per dose, it works out to collecting RM 2,500 a day and this is a very tempting proposition to many people during these hard times.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher