NUBE general-secretary J Solomon slammed the health minister, saying that Khairy’s intention as expressed in the statement was “akin to the government resorting to gangsterism against citizens”.

“The National Union of Bank Employees protests such outright discrimination, bullying and exploiting the dignity of citizens who do not want to be vaccinated,” Solomon said in a statement.

“Forcing the vaccine on those who do not want to be vaccinated will be tantamount to molestation.”

Noting that those who had been vaccinated could still be infected, Solomon said: “Countries like Singapore and Israel have even revoked their original policy of the vaccine passport for travel as they realise that there is no epidemiologic value as the number of infections has risen sharply among the vaccinated.

“Based on these factors, the assumption that the public and workers who are not vaccinated will endanger the health of vaccinated workers is incorrect.”

He urged the government to respect the rights of the people and focus on providing effective medical assistance to the people.

Recently, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim slammed Khairy, saying it would be better for the government to approach anti-vaxxer groups and persuade them with science to counter any misconceptions they might have about the vaccines.

“I don’t back anti-vaxxers, but they argue the case against vaccines well. So we need to counter them by putting forward stronger arguments.

“If they cite scientific studies, we need to respond with studies that carry more credibility to convince them. There is no need to threaten them,” Anwar had said.

On Saturday, Khairy said the government would take a vigorous approach against those who refused to be vaccinated by “continuing to make their life difficult”.

However, he said those who could not be vaccinated due to health reasons would not be affected as they would be exempted from vaccination.