MMA president Dr Koh Kar Chai said: “The authorities should not only go after the healthcare personnel involved but also those who have bought the fake vaccine certificates.

“Throw the book at them as well for endangering the health of those around them after falsifying their vaccination status.”

Koh told FMT that although he believed the public still had confidence in the vaccines, the authorities needed to act quickly to prevent future fraudulent practices.

More than 5,600 people are believed to have been fraudulently registered on the MySejahtera system in Selangor alone. Police have made numerous arrests throughout the country involving those hawking fake certificates.

Pin them down with track and trace

A former deputy health minister, Dr Lee Boon Chye, said the existing track and trace system for every vaccine dose should allow the health ministry to identify those who had been fraudulently registered through MySejahtera.

“The track and trace system includes enough details, right down to the batch number, manufacturing date, place of manufacture, distribution and even up until the point it is administered to a recipient.

“The health ministry should be able to determine if a vaccine certificate is fake if the batch number does not tally with the doctor who administered it,” he said.

Lee added that the authorities must advise those who had bought fake certificates to receive their full vaccinations.

It is unclear how the authorities intend to deal with those who had purchased fake certificates.

FMT has contacted the health ministry for comment.

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