PIKAS (Program Imunisasi Industri COVID-19 Kerjasama Awam-Swasta), the public-private partnership immunisation program for employees in the manufacturing sector, has been helping speed up vaccination of the Malaysian population. The large workforces of both Malaysian carmakers – Perodua and Proton – as well as those in businesses associated with them have receive vaccinations over the past weeks.

Proton reports that, following the second round of vaccinations last week, over 86% of its 8,486 employees are now fully vaccinated for protection against COVID-19 infection. The number is expected to increase over the coming weeks as 98% have already received their first dose, in line  with the company’s aim to achieve herd immunity in its chain of operations.

As with the first round of vaccinations, the sports complex at the company’s Tanjung Malim plant in Perak was repurposed as an industry vaccine dispensing centre, catering for staff and vendors in the area, while those based in Shah Alam went to the Shah Alam Convention Centre in Selangor.

“PROTON is pleased to announce our PIKAS vaccination programme has been a resounding success. There are  more than 60,000 people in our business ecosystem, including staff from vendors and dealers, so we are thankful to MITI, MOSTI and the Ministry of Health for their guidance to coordinate such a mammoth task and  ensuring everyone registered on MySejahtera has been given the vaccine,” said Dr Li Chunrong, CEO of Proton.

80% already received one dose
“We estimate more than 80% of our operations chain would have received at least one dose of the vaccine by the  end of August and this helps to ensure Proton is able to hit the ground running once the automotive industry is  given the greenlight to resume operations nationwide,” he added.

To prepare for resumption of business activities, the carmaker has relooked at its business procedures to reduce the likelihood of infections being  spread. Procedures at retail operations have been further tightened to protect customers and staff alike while production processes at all the plants have been scrutinised for any possible risk of infection to both downstream and upstream operations.

“Proton is committed to helping Malaysia lower the number of COVID-19 infections to quickly achieve the milestones in the National Recovery Plan. We have created new processes in all areas, from our production lines to our corporate offices, ensuring a new and safer work environment. It also means strict new rules will be enforced throughout the company and measures such as virtual meetings and splitting work between home and the office will be the norm for the near future,” Dr. Li said.

Perodua employees and suppliers vaccinated
At Perodua too, PIKAS has been used to organise a vaccination exercise for the employees and suppliers. Some 13,000 Perodua employees and suppliers have received the first dose of the vaccine at the Perodua Vaccination Centre since the end of July.

The vaccination facility is within the Perodua manufacturing complex in Sg. Choh, Selangor. Besides maintaining a high level of hygienic cleanliness by daily sanitization, there are also strict security checks at the main entrance to control movements so that there is no crowding.

Perodua’s initiative will not only prepare its workforce for the time when operations are allowed to resume but also contribute to ensuring protection against COVID-19 infection for a large proportion of the people in the Hulu Selangor district where the carmaker’s headquarters and factories are located.

Tan Chong Motor Holdings organises in-house vaccination programme for employees