Unvaccinated hawker challenges council's 'unfair' Covid-19 restrictions
An unvaccinated food hawker in Ranau, Sabah, is challenging a Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) imposed by the local district council.
This came after she received a warning letter from the Ranau District Council to get vaccinated against the coronavirus within a week if she wanted to avoid being issued a hefty fine of RM2,000 to RM50,000.
Naomi@Neomi Francis filed a judicial review against the council on the basis that all...
An unvaccinated food hawker in Ranau, Sabah, is challenging a Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) imposed by the local district council.
This came after she received a warning letter from the Ranau District Council to get vaccinated against the coronavirus within a week if she wanted to avoid being issued a hefty fine of RM2,000 to RM50,000.
Naomi@Neomi Francis filed a judicial review against the council on the basis that all Covid-19 restrictions on unvaccinated individuals are in conflict with the Federal Constitution.
In a report by The Vibes, the 55-year-old said that she was representing all who want to protect their liberty of having the choice to turn down the vaccine, and not face discrimination for their decision.
She noted that Article 5 of the Federal Constitution states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty, save in accordance with the law, and Article 8 states that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection of the law.
“Based on the said articles, the Sabah government is violating the Federal Constitution by not providing liberty to the people – whether they want to get vaccinated or not, discriminating between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals by providing more access to those who are vaccinated and denying access to those who have not been inoculated.
“I only want to fight for this; I want the government to stop imposing rules that are against the Federal Constitution,” she was quoted as saying by The Vibes.
Naomi added that she is at risk of losing her food and catering business if she is forced to pay a RM50,000 fine.
Vaccine hesitancy
She claimed that while she was not an anti-vaxxer, she does not feel confident about getting inoculated against Covid-19, as she felt that there was a lack of medical studies and evidence on the matter, and is concerned about the side effects.
The mother of four said that her son, who is a medical assistant, and her sister, who is a nurse, have tried to persuade her to receive the vaccination, but to no avail.
“My husband and one of my children also have not taken the vaccine.
“When we first received the warning letter, my husband, a farmer who also helps me at the stall, said that he wants to ‘sacrifice’ for our family and take the vaccine.
“I cried when I heard that and told him not to take the vaccination unless he is sincere and truly wants to get vaccinated. I told him there must be other ways,” she added.
Legal action
The judicial review hearing against the district council is set for tomorrow, and Naomi will be represented by counsel Marcel Jude.
Previously, Naomi took numerous allegedly unfair decisions made by the Ranau District Council to the attention of the Local Government and Housing Ministry in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
These cases involved violations of the Ranau District Council (Markets) By-Laws 1963 as rental fees and rented stalls to non-bumiputera traders in the market were increased by the council, with Naomi persuading the council to retract their decisions without going to court.
Naomi hopes that this round of legal action will help Sabahans who have been denied entry into various premises – including teachers, business owners, and other government staff – and face action from the government for not getting inoculated.
Studies have found that the protection one gets after being infected by Covid-19 can last many months. However, the immune response is not as consistent as what one gets from vaccination.
One study in the US found that unvaccinated people who were previously infected by Covid-19 still had 2.34 times higher risk of a new infection compared to fully vaccinated people.
The Sabah government ordered that only fully vaccinated individuals are allowed to enter business premises, including owners and staff, beginning Sept 21.
A one-month grace period was given by the state government before the new set of Covid-19 restrictions were fully imposed.
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