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Dian Azura, 36, took to Twitter to voice her frustration after being repeatedly stopped from accompanying the dependent, her 40-year-old cousin who has a mental health condition.
She said police and Rela personnel at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur PPV had stopped her at three different checkpoints on July 4 despite showing that she was the dependent’s caregiver on the MySejahtera application.
The personnel even pushed her to explain why her cousin needed her to accompany him, thinking he did not need a chaperone because he seemed physically fine.
“According to them, anyone who looks fine physically must go by themselves. At each checkpoint, I grew more frustrated as they questioned me multiple times. But they also grew frustrated with me and, with displeasure, let me in anyway after I insisted.
“The situation was the total opposite with the medical officers on duty. The moment I said ‘He is my dependent,’ they nodded, said okay, and let me in,” she said.
Dian told FMT that it had taken much effort to get her cousin to agree to get vaccinated, and the refusal to allow her to enter with him threatened to undo all that hard work.
“People only register dependents because they depend on their family members. Why they are registered as a dependent is beside the point.
“Also, he was the third dependent I accompanied, so I am very familiar with the procedures. My mother and my aunt probably had no problem because they looked old, frail, and wrinkly, so they didn’t question me,” she said.
After her cousin was finally vaccinated, Dian decided to head to the PPV’s help desk to complain about how she was treated, only to face totally unhelpful personnel there.
She said an officer implied that she was not in control of her emotions and maintained that only the elderly and disabled could be accompanied by a relative.
But she said this just went to show that many were unaware of how people struggling with mental illness also needed assistance.
She was also told that the security personnel were only trying to prevent certain people from sneaking in to get vaccinated, though she pointed out she had already been given her first dose.
Frustrated and overwhelmed over the experience, Dian said she eventually broke down and cried while waiting with her cousin to be picked up by a Grab driver.
Her Twitter posts drew netizens to share their own grievances while accompanying a dependent for their jabs, with many also complaining of rude personnel at checkpoints.
Some who had accompanied their elderly parents also faced similar situations, being stopped by personnel who told them only the recipient was allowed in, before arguing their way through.
Dian urged vaccine minister Khairy Jamaluddin to take action over the issue, saying many caregivers and dependents would not usually speak out because their responsibilities were already heavy.
“Why do we register dependents and confirm our attendance?
“What is the purpose of the (MySejahtera) app if Rela or police refuse entry and even question people with mental health conditions why they can’t go by themselves?” she asked, pointing out that mental conditions could be both seen and unseen.
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