Deputy rural development minister Abdul Rahman Mohamad said of the 79,041 registration forms received so far, only 15,307 Orang Asli agreed to be vaccinated.

“So, we can see that the number of people who agree to be vaccinated is low. Most of them rejected the vaccines for fear of dying within two or three years after vaccination.

“We distributed the forms to about 120,000 eligible recipients of the Covid-19 vaccines but only got back 79,041 forms. So, I agree that awareness (regarding vaccination) among the Orang Asli community is still low,” he told reporters after visiting the Sungai Berua Orang Asli village settlement here today.

Also present was domestic trade and consumer affairs deputy minister Rosol Wahid, who is also the Hulu Terengganu MP.

Abdul Rahman said that so far, a total of 3,018 Orang Asli had been vaccinated.

In a related development, he said the ministry, together with the department of Orang Asli development and relevant authorities would continue to expand engagement sessions with the Orang Asli to explain the importance of getting vaccinated.

“Maybe they did not get a clear explanation. So, the ministry will revise its strategy to advise and explain so that every eligible Orang Asli agrees to be vaccinated,” he added.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST DATA ON THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA