Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin made the offer today in an effort to encourage more people in the state to register for the vaccines under the national Covid-19 immunisation programme.
The prize, according to the former deputy minister of agriculture and agro-based industry, would be given out monthly via a lucky draw.
After visiting the Spice Arena vaccination centre today, Sim urged those getting their vaccines to sign up for the lucky draw at his service centre.
Sim also urged property developers and state governments to give free homes as part of a sweepstake to get more people to sign up for the vaccine.
He said the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) can spearhead this, while state governments can offer free state housing to encourage more people to register for vaccines and to complete their two doses.
“Factories and other private companies also can do their part by giving cash incentives, cars, motorbikes, computers to their workers who complete their two doses,” he told reporters today.
Sim said local companies could play their part by sponsoring food and other freebies at vaccination centres in order to encourage more people to register and get their vaccines.
This follows similar efforts in other states.
In Johor, the state assemblyman for Penawar, Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain offered chicken and eggs to a village in her constituency and that resulted in 185 people getting vaccinated.
In Butterworth, a company paid RM150 each to 120 employees who got themselves vaccinated. Several eateries are also offering special discounts or free food – such as tau foo fah, a cup of soy milk, coffee, avocado smoothies and cheesecake — for anyone who has been vaccinated.
Even in the United States, a woman won US$1 million (RM4.1 million) in a vaccination lottery organised by the state of Ohio. Other US states are offering full college scholarships, reimbursing people who drove their neighbours to get vaccinated and even free beer, as is the case in the state of New Jersey.
Meanwhile, chief minister Chow Kon Yeow reiterated his call for more vaccination centres in Penang, so as to meet a daily target of 20,000 doses.
He said in the northeast district, where the state’s capital George Town is located, at least 322,000 must be vaccinated to hit a 80% target for herd immunity. The health authorities have targeted an overall 1.3 million out of the 1.77 million people in the state to be vaccinated.
Chow said despite having 268,000 registering for their vaccination, only 38,000 people have been given the vaccine in Penang so far.