The praise came from Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Koh Kar Chai, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj and former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye.

Koh said he had done “exceptionally well”, Jeyakumar called him a “smart guy” and Lee congratulated him for having done much better than other ministers, including the prime minister.

However, they called for some changes in his strategies.

Koh noted that 97% of Malaysian adults and 87% of adolescents had been vaccinated against Covid-19 and said this was “perhaps Khairy’s most notable KPI achievement”.

He also gave credit to Khairy and his ministry for these other achievements:

• Providing the latest data on the Covid-19 situation through the CovidNow website;
• Placing strict SOPs for the Melaka state elections last month;
• The re-opening of travel between Malaysia and Singapore; and
• The prompt action in updating Covid-19 testing requirements for travellers arriving as a precaution against the Omicron variant.

Koh also said MMA was pleased that Khairy had been engaging with the association and had been receptive to its ideas.

“Our only disappointment is that the longstanding issue of contract doctors has remained unresolved,” Koh said.

He also mentioned the “major challenge” of getting undocumented immigrants vaccinated and said more ministries should be involved in meeting that goal.

Jeyakumar, who noted that Malaysia was moving towards becoming a fully vaccinated nation, said the reporting focus must now shift from “basic contact tracing and isolation” numbers to figures for deaths and hospital admissions for ICU and oxygen.

He said the government could use the information in deciding to ease or tighten SOPs.

Referring to the controversial drug Ivermectin, he said the government should not impose a blanket ban on it because that might create a suspicion that it wanted a monopoly on drugs.

“The government needs to inform the people that it does not recommend Ivermectin but if they insist on using it, they should consume only a certain dosage,” he said. “The government needs to be rational to get more cooperation from the public.”

Lee, meanwhile, urged Khairy to be more transparent with data on complications reported after vaccination. “The number of deaths or the types of complications after vaccination are still not known,” he said.

The Gopeng MP voiced concern over the Omicron variant and said the government needed to increase measures to curb its spread.

Lee also said he hoped Khairy would be able to resolve the issue of an uncertain future faced by contract doctors.

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