KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians should help the government to ensure the success of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme by conveying accurate information on the COVID-19 vaccine to their family members as well as the community.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri said this was because the Special Muzakarah Committee of the National Council on the Islamic Religious Affairs had agreed that the use of the vaccine is ‘wajib’ (compulsory) for groups that have been identified by the government and ‘harus’ (permissible) for others.

In fact, he said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had taken his first vaccine jab to assure the people that the vaccine is safe.

“Avoid sharing any doubtful information, especially on social media. Give full cooperation to this immunisation programme so that it can run smoothly.

“Let us pray that we will succeed in the fight against COVID-19,” he said when delivering Friday sermon entitled “Malaysia Prihatin: Peranan Bersama” at the Putra Mosque here today.

Themed “Protect Yourself, Protect All”, the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme was implemented in three phases, with Phase 1 from February to April 2021 for frontliners involving 500,000 people.

Phase 2 from April to August involves a group of senior citizens aged 65 and above, the high-risk group and the disabled involving 9.4 million people, while Phase 3 from May this year to February 2022 for the population aged 18 and above - Malaysians and non-citizens - with a target of over 13.7 million people.

Meanwhile, Zulkifli said the Malaysia Prihatin (Malaysia Cares) spirit was a manifestation of the aspirations and hopes of all Malaysians in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People from all walks of life should be united regardless of their political ideologies,” he said.

According to Zulkifli, the spirit also proved JP Morgan’s assumption that the country’s COVID-19 infections was likely to peak in mid-April 2020, wrong.

“It is not impossible that the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s (IHME) prediction that COVID-19 cases in Malaysia may hit over 20,000 daily infections from March 3, will not come true,” he said.

Zulkifli said in order to ensure the success of embracing the spirit of Malaysia Prihatin all of us must place a strong emphasis on the importance of safety and health.

Earlier, he officiated the Bait Al Mahabbah Counter at the mosque which aimed at providing daily necessities to asnaf (eligible tithe recipients) around Putrajaya.

Located on the ground floor of the Putra Mosque, the counter, which started its operations on Feb 11, is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

-- BERNAMA