April 20, 2021, 03:17 PM
Malaysia's Health Minister Adham Baba has denied a report alleging that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Malaysia's king) has obtained Sinopharm's Covid-19 vaccine in the UAE for his family members, Malaysiakini reported.
The Sinopharm vaccine has yet to be approved for use in Malaysia. However, it has approved Sinovac for use.
Adham was quoted as saying:
"Where did the writer get the source for his report? He is trying to create a negative perception towards Malaysia."
What did the report say?
The allegation was made by an article in Asia Sentinel, which was written by its veteran co-founder and editor-in-chief, John Berthelsen.
In a section titled "The king and his vaccines", the article cited "two well-placed sources" who said that Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah headed to the UAE in January 2021 along with Foreign Minister Hishamuddin Hussein and Attorney-General Idris Harun.
They were allegedly there to meet a UAE prince called "Mohamed bin Nayan", a former classmate of the king in the United Kingdom.
The sources added that the king and his entourage were then vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine in the UAE "as a favour."
The sources added that 2,000 additional doses were also given to the king for him to bring home to his family and friends in Malaysia.
When all members of the Sultan's family were inoculated, excess vaccines were allegedly given to business partners and friends.
The vaccines were also offered to the country's Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, and other ministers. However, they reportedly declined the offer as they were then awaiting the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Queen deletes post about receiving both doses of a vaccine
The Malay Mail further reported that in early April, Malaysia's Permaisuri Agong (Malaysia's queen), Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, said in an Instagram post that she had received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, which had not been reported.
The post has since been deleted.
In addition, her Instagram page appeared to have been briefly deactivated on Apr. 19.
Malaysia's queen has deactivated Instagram account following intense questioning by citizens over allegation the royal family received Covid-19 vaccines in UAE.
— Zurairi A.R. (@zurairi) April 19, 2021
Prev since story broke, she had been posting Islamic quotes & a photo of her cup instant noodles collection. pic.twitter.com/bimsIDgH0U
Malaysiakini further reported that the deactivation followed the queen's alleged reply to a comment on a post about spending an afternoon in the palace's kitchen with the cooks.
In response to a comment asking if the cooks had been vaccinated, the queen allegedly said, "Dengki ke?" (Translation: Are you jealous?)
Screenshots of the alleged reply were subsequently circled on social media.
Them 41 likes, we need to talk.#DengkiKe pic.twitter.com/b5jU8DSMgg
— neddo khan (@neddokhan) April 19, 2021
Dia boleh tanya kita "dengki ke?", ladies & gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/YjoL0jN0Ji
— KNB (@nizambakeri) April 19, 2021
The queen then put up a new post on Apr. 20, with the following quote:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CN3TBSuBsYo/
Thus far, Malaysia has approved five vaccines for use in the country, according to The Star.
They are:
- Pfizer-BioNTech,
- AstraZeneca,
- Sinovac,
- CanSinoBIO, and
- Sputnik V.
Top collage from Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah's Instagram, Adham Baba's Facebook and @nizambakeri/Twitter
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