KUALA LUMPUR (May 26): Pharmaniaga Bhd, the local registration product holder for Sinovac vaccine in the country, has lodged police reports following the circulation of baseless and malicious allegations about the pharmaceutical company that have been circulating on social media and text messaging platforms, according to its group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope.
Speaking at a media briefing today, Zulkarnain said the group is very disappointed with the irresponsible actions of certain quarters who slandered not only Pharmaniaga, but also the Government and the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV).
“The rakyat do not need all these rumour mongers who clearly wanted to create chaos and unrest, causing mistrust and divisions among ourselves, thus jeopardising the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
“In a critical period like now, we need to be united and stay objective in our fight against the pandemic.
“We at Pharmaniaga are not intimidated and have lodged police reports, so that official investigations can be conducted and bring the unscrupulous parties who spread these hateful messages to justice,” he said.
Without sharing details on the reports lodged, Pharmaniaga said as the nation continues to face the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the group remains steadfast and committed to meet the healthcare requirements and vaccine supply for the Rakyat.
Previously, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had claimed that Pharmaniaga had a monopoly in bringing all the vaccines in the country, including the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine.
However, National Covid-19 Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin dismissed the allegations and stated that for every vaccine, there must be a local registration product holder or a local company which applies to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) for approval.
Khairy also said that the Pfizer vaccine was brought in via Pfizer Malaysia, while the AstraZeneca vaccine was brought in via its Malaysian office and the Covax facility handled by the World Health Organisation.