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Showing posts with label Penangites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Penangites. Show all posts

Saturday, February 27, 2021

MySejahtera for the Covid-19 vaccination registration to get immunised

   
 Malaysians weigh in: Some find registering for immunisation on MySejahtera easy while others say the app could be more intuitive and user-friendly.
 
 
How To Register For COVID-19 Vaccination On MySejahtera!



How To Register Your Family For FREE ...



 

 

MySejahtera gets more features, improves vaccination registration process

Over a million people have already registered for the Covid-19 vaccine via MySejahtera, and the app will include new features to become the one-stop centre for the national immunisation programme.

It will also cater to those who do not have smartphones and thus cannot instal the app.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had earlier said that the registration process for dependants will be rolled out in mid-March.

“The facility will enable children to register their parents who do not have MySejahtera,” he told a previous press conference.

Meanwhile, those who are selected to receive the jab in the second and third phases will be notified by the app of the date and location of their vaccination appointments, according to MySejahtera’s Helpdesk.

The handbook on the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme added that the monitoring of side effects after vaccination can also be done via MySejahtera.

“The monitoring of side effects and adverse effects following immunisation (AEFI) will be carried out through enhanced surveillance, where vaccine recipients will receive a scheduled notification or reminder through the MySejahtera app so they can report any AEFI experience,” the handbook noted.

The app, which has been instrumental in containing Covid-19 outbreaks with its contact tracing feature, will continue to play a vital part in the country’s battle against the pandemic by now supporting users in the vaccination programme.

Khairy said that over one million people registered for the vaccine via the app within four days of the vaccination registration feature being made available on Feb 23.

“More frontliners are receiving their jabs. It’s safe, it’s effective.

“Let’s end the pandemic. Take the vaccine. Register today,” he tweeted.

According to the MySejahtera Helpdesk, non-frontliners have to activate push notifications to be informed when the next phase of vaccinations begins.

If users are selected for the vaccination, they will receive a push notification through the app that they have to click on to answer the screening question.

Most Malaysians have described the registration process as easy and fuss-free, though some have indicated that clearer instructions would have made the experience even better.

Retired civil servant Alexander Ananda Jothy said the registration was straightforward and that he was waiting to be able to register his wife, whom he listed as a dependant on the app.

“She doesn’t have the app downloaded in her name on the phone, so she can’t register for the vaccine independently.

“By allowing vaccine registration for dependants to take place on the MySejahtera app, it would be more convenient for those without phones,” he said, adding that a few of his neighbours have also brought up this issue.

Photographer Sia Hong Kiau, 52, said that she was able to register her husband, who is from Myanmar with permanent resident status in Malaysia.

“It was an easy process. I helped him key in his details and he was successful in registering his interest in getting vaccinated,” she said.

Church worker Danielle Cheng, 27, said the process was simple but certain instructions could be better presented so that it would be more intuitive and user-friendly.

“For instance, after I clicked on the vaccination icon, there were a few options on the screen but it did not clearly state that I need to click the first one in order to register.

“There was a bit of fumbling around and clicking on different buttons to see what would happen.

“I was then directed to a page that said I would be notified when phase 2 starts, but which also told me to click on the link to provide additional details.

“So I was not sure if I was already registered at that point or if I needed to provide more details in order to be registered,” she said.

Brian Chung concurred, adding that while it was a fairly straightforward process, there were some parts that caused slight confusion.

“I would appreciate it if they had clear notifications that I could register my interest or to inform me what my next steps are,” he said.

Gilbert Tang, 64, said he signed up for the vaccine on MySejahtera because he was in the high risk group and was concerned about his well-being.

“My dad died of pneumonia back in 2015 and our family has a history of heart ailments.

“I had a bad experience when I was with my father during his last days when he was struggling to breathe through an oxygen mask.

“After experiencing this, I decided that I would sign up and take the vaccine as I do not want to suffer like my father did,” he said.

Source link

 

Related:

 

 

Guidance for senior citizens



Don't wait, register now for the vaccine, Penangites urged ...

 

 

MySejahtera app now tracks your registration progress 

       

 

 

 

 

 

Q & A: What you need to know about the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine

 https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/02/28/q--a-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine

 

Pregnancy takes a back seat to vaccine | The Star  



Sinovac's vaccine shows an 80-90% efficacy rate within 2 months after 2 shots: CEO


 

 

Covid-19: First batch of CoronaVac vaccine arrives at KLIA

 
The Star Online
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Female pilot proud to be in five-member crew of plane carrying Sinovac vaccine to Malaysia
 https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/02/27/female-pilot-proud-to-be-in-five-member-crew-in-plane-carrying-sinovac-vaccine-to-malaysia
 
 

Covid-19: First batch of CoronaVac vaccine arrives at KLIA

 

No to compulsory vaccine passport for domestic use 

 
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Convincing the non-believers for vaccination

 
 

MySejahtera to trace Covid-19, a mandatory use being mulled

How to use MySejahtera, Gerak Malaysia and MyTrace

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Penang-lang fearing the death of a dialect


Like most Penangites who are proud of their heritage, the writer is troubled that Hokkien isn’t spoken as much as it used to be.

IF there’s one clear feature that separates Penangites from the rest of the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, it is the distinct northern-accented Hokkien.

It doesn’t matter whether we are in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, London or Timbuktu but we can pick up a Penangite whenever we hear this northern style dialect with its rich sprinkling of Malay words that denotes its nyonya-baba linguistic roots.

But each time I return to Penang, I can feel the linguistic changes that are taking place. Whether we realise it or not, Penang Hokkien is slowly disappearing.

Mandarin is quickly taking over this unique Penang Hokkien dialect and for sure, English is also being affected in daily conversations.

Penangites are fiercely proud of their Hokkien as it is entirely different from the one spoken in Singapore, Taiwan or Xiamen in China.

As older Penangites, perhaps we can be a little snooty, as we sometimes dismiss the Hokkien spoken elsewhere as somewhat crass and unrefined.

Only the Hokkien spoken by the Chinese community in Medan closely mirrors that of Penang Hokkien, presumably because of the proximity between Penang and the Indonesian city.

Whether rightly or wrongly, or plainly out of ignorance, Penangites feel the sing-song delivery sounds better.

Words such as balai (police station), balu (just now), bangku (stool), batu (stone), cilaka/celaka (damn it), campur (to mix), jamban (toilet), gatai/gatal (itchy) gili/geli (creepy), sabun (soap) and kesian (pity), are an integral part of the Penang Hokkien dialect.

If the person is not from Penang, then he or she has to be from Kedah, Perlis or Taiping.

Even Penangites of other racial groups can easily speak, or at least understand Hokkien. My fellow moderation advocate, Anas Zubedy, speaks excellent Hokkien. So do my colleagues executive editor Dorairaj Nadason and sports editor R. Manogaran.

But the daily use of the dialect is rapidly being replaced by Mandarin. Go to most coffeeshops today and the hawkers or helpers are likely to tell you the price of food in Mandarin.

I am feeling a little uncomfortable because I am a very parochial and sentimental Penangite. It doesn’t help that I do not speak Mandarin.

Although I am a Cantonese, Hokkien is the spoken language in my family home and the changes that are taking place do have an effect.

Even most of the Penang state government leaders are not from Penang. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was born in Johor and grew up in Melaka.

Senior state exco member Chow Kon Yeow is from Kuala Lumpur but he studied in Universiti Sains Malaysia. Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy is Sitiawan-born but he spent most of his time in Selangor.

Exceptions are the children of the late Karpal Singh – state exco member Jagdeep Singh Deo and Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh Deo – and other state assemblymen.

The Penang Monthly bulletin, in its May issue, dramatically headlined the situation “Penang Hokkien on life support.”

In an interview with Penang Monthly, the Penang Hokkien Language Association secretary Ooi Kee How was quoted as saying that “people think there’s no benefit in learning or speaking Hokkien, which is not true. Yes, you can survive if you do not speak Hokkien; you can get by with speaking only one language your entire life.”

“But the thing is, something will diminish. Our creativity, our cultural identity, will decline. A lot of innovations will disappear, because different languages shape the way we think differently.”

And what has brought about the decline of the Penang Hokkien? It’s a combination of factors. For one, a whole generation of Penangites have been educated in Chinese schools, at least at the primary level.

This is unlike the older generation of Penangites like me, who are now in the 50s, who attended schools using English as a medium of instruction. In the absence of Mandarin, we spoke mainly Hokkien and English but people in their 30s and 40s find it more comfortable conversing in Mandarin – and for sure, not English.

Then there is this huge impact of Chinese TV shows, especially over Astro. They are entirely in Mandarin, with shows from mainland China and Taiwan, and in Hokkien, which is spoken in a manner more similar to those used in Melaka and Johor.

It is no surprise that the sales staff at malls also expect the Chinese community to speak in Mandarin, and understandably they will begin the conversation in Mandarin – because you are expected to know the language.

There is also the impact of China as the new economic powerhouse of Asia, if not, the world. Mandarin has taken over the dominant spot as a language with economic value, and certainly prestige. That is the reality but it may well be at the expense of a rich heritage. Catherine Churchman, a lecturer in Asian Studies, in the School of Languages and Cultures in Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, who studied the Taiwanese and Penang Hokkien dialects, reportedly said: “Penangites have become increasingly used to hearing Taiwanese Hokkien, but the Taiwanese are not used to hearing Penang Hokkien.

“Simply replacing Malay loan words with the Taiwanese equivalents does not turn Penang Hokkien into Taiwanese Hokkien either. The grammatical structure of Penang Hokkien is different.”

Fearful of the danger of Penang Hokkien dying, Penang Monthly further quoted Churchman as saying “languages often die the same way, and one of the reasons is simply the existence of a generation gap.”

That melodious Penang Hokkien may not be heard, decades from now, if this frightening trend continues.

On The Beat by Wong Chun Wai

Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 27 years in various capacities and roles. He is now the group's managing director/chief executive officer and formerly the group chief editor.

On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.

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Penang-lang fearing the death of a dialect


Like most Penangites who are proud of their heritage, the writer is troubled that Hokkien isn’t spoken as much as it used to be.

IF there’s one clear feature that separates Penangites from the rest of the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, it is the distinct northern-accented Hokkien.

It doesn’t matter whether we are in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, London or Timbuktu but we can pick up a Penangite whenever we hear this northern style dialect with its rich sprinkling of Malay words that denotes its nyonya-baba linguistic roots.

But each time I return to Penang, I can feel the linguistic changes that are taking place. Whether we realise it or not, Penang Hokkien is slowly disappearing.

Mandarin is quickly taking over this unique Penang Hokkien dialect and for sure, English is also being affected in daily conversations.

Penangites are fiercely proud of their Hokkien as it is entirely different from the one spoken in Singapore, Taiwan or Xiamen in China.

As older Penangites, perhaps we can be a little snooty, as we sometimes dismiss the Hokkien spoken elsewhere as somewhat crass and unrefined.

Only the Hokkien spoken by the Chinese community in Medan closely mirrors that of Penang Hokkien, presumably because of the proximity between Penang and the Indonesian city.

Whether rightly or wrongly, or plainly out of ignorance, Penangites feel the sing-song delivery sounds better.

Words such as balai (police station), balu (just now), bangku (stool), batu (stone), cilaka/celaka (damn it), campur (to mix), jamban (toilet), gatai/gatal (itchy) gili/geli (creepy), sabun (soap) and kesian (pity), are an integral part of the Penang Hokkien dialect.

If the person is not from Penang, then he or she has to be from Kedah, Perlis or Taiping.

Even Penangites of other racial groups can easily speak, or at least understand Hokkien. My fellow moderation advocate, Anas Zubedy, speaks excellent Hokkien. So do my colleagues executive editor Dorairaj Nadason and sports editor R. Manogaran.

But the daily use of the dialect is rapidly being replaced by Mandarin. Go to most coffeeshops today and the hawkers or helpers are likely to tell you the price of food in Mandarin.

I am feeling a little uncomfortable because I am a very parochial and sentimental Penangite. It doesn’t help that I do not speak Mandarin.

Although I am a Cantonese, Hokkien is the spoken language in my family home and the changes that are taking place do have an effect.

Even most of the Penang state government leaders are not from Penang. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was born in Johor and grew up in Melaka.

Senior state exco member Chow Kon Yeow is from Kuala Lumpur but he studied in Universiti Sains Malaysia. Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy is Sitiawan-born but he spent most of his time in Selangor.

Exceptions are the children of the late Karpal Singh – state exco member Jagdeep Singh Deo and Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh Deo – and other state assemblymen.

The Penang Monthly bulletin, in its May issue, dramatically headlined the situation “Penang Hokkien on life support.”

In an interview with Penang Monthly, the Penang Hokkien Language Association secretary Ooi Kee How was quoted as saying that “people think there’s no benefit in learning or speaking Hokkien, which is not true. Yes, you can survive if you do not speak Hokkien; you can get by with speaking only one language your entire life.”

“But the thing is, something will diminish. Our creativity, our cultural identity, will decline. A lot of innovations will disappear, because different languages shape the way we think differently.”

And what has brought about the decline of the Penang Hokkien? It’s a combination of factors. For one, a whole generation of Penangites have been educated in Chinese schools, at least at the primary level.

This is unlike the older generation of Penangites like me, who are now in the 50s, who attended schools using English as a medium of instruction. In the absence of Mandarin, we spoke mainly Hokkien and English but people in their 30s and 40s find it more comfortable conversing in Mandarin – and for sure, not English.

Then there is this huge impact of Chinese TV shows, especially over Astro. They are entirely in Mandarin, with shows from mainland China and Taiwan, and in Hokkien, which is spoken in a manner more similar to those used in Melaka and Johor.

It is no surprise that the sales staff at malls also expect the Chinese community to speak in Mandarin, and understandably they will begin the conversation in Mandarin – because you are expected to know the language.

There is also the impact of China as the new economic powerhouse of Asia, if not, the world. Mandarin has taken over the dominant spot as a language with economic value, and certainly prestige. That is the reality but it may well be at the expense of a rich heritage. Catherine Churchman, a lecturer in Asian Studies, in the School of Languages and Cultures in Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, who studied the Taiwanese and Penang Hokkien dialects, reportedly said: “Penangites have become increasingly used to hearing Taiwanese Hokkien, but the Taiwanese are not used to hearing Penang Hokkien.

“Simply replacing Malay loan words with the Taiwanese equivalents does not turn Penang Hokkien into Taiwanese Hokkien either. The grammatical structure of Penang Hokkien is different.”

Fearful of the danger of Penang Hokkien dying, Penang Monthly further quoted Churchman as saying “languages often die the same way, and one of the reasons is simply the existence of a generation gap.”

That melodious Penang Hokkien may not be heard, decades from now, if this frightening trend continues.

On The Beat by Wong Chun Wai

Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 27 years in various capacities and roles. He is now the group's managing director/chief executive officer and formerly the group chief editor.

On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.

Related posts:

For the love of Datuk titles 

Money games, Earn money nothing can replace the old-fashioned hard-work, honesty; learn Jack Ma's way

Wanted: Leaders who listen !

What concerns Malaysians most ? 

Mind your words, please! 

Mereka Rasuah Kita Bayar! 3J drive: Jangan Kawtim, Jangan Hulur, Jangan Settle!

Another government department, seriously? Beef up the existing enforcement agencies !