By Ivy Chai
“Seek always to fulfill the higher goal for the common good of everyone in Sarawak and Malaysia.”
KUCHING (24 April) — This Sunday, Christians celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, also known as Vocation Sunday. Catholic priests are personified shepherds of their flock.
In a press statement released today, Kuching Archbishop Simon Poh of the Archdiocese of Kuching, expressed his experience and reason on why he registered for the COVID-19 vaccine as early as February 2021.
“According to the guidelines issued by the Malaysian Bishops’ Conference on 4 February 2021, the Catholic position is that vaccination is a moral good and the moral principle with regards to vaccinations is that it “depends not only on the duty to protect one’s own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good.”
“Each person is to make the decision freely according to one’s conscience. A humanitarian principle is to make your decision with an outward viewpoint by considering the good of others and not thinking of self-preservation which is inward looking. By making the decision to be vaccinated, one is ultimately making a choice to protect others around the person–family, colleagues, friends and the larger society,” he said.
“Thus when 70% of the population has been immunised, we will achieve herd immunity and help overcome COVID-19 in our community. Everyone can make a difference. Each vaccination contributes to the common good as expressed in the placard ‘Lindung Diri, Lindung Semua’,” he added.
Getting Vaccinated
Archbishop Simon Poh arrived at Stadium Perpaduan, Petra Jaya on 23 April well before his 11.00am appointment. “I arrived earlier and waited in line to get to the registration counters as there were many people there. On the whole it was a smooth process.”
He expressed “respect to RELA, the admission and ushering teams, and the medical personnel who were on hand to assist everyone present. Thank you for your gentleness and friendliness that I experienced and witnessed on my vaccination day.”
After an encounter with Anglican Bishop Danald Jute after both of them had received their first dose of vaccines and taken a solidarity photo together, the prelate headed back to his office.
“I was able to work comfortably over the weekend, save for a little soreness on the needle spot which did not impede me. On the whole, drinking plenty of fluids and being attentive to my body’s needs are good ways to monitor and help ensure a healthier lifestyle during these pandemic days.”
The Archbishop cautioned against being complacent as the vaccinations are to be rolled out in stages, especially with Sarawak recording three digit infections.
Irrespective of having been vaccinated or not, “each person can still help to contain COVID-19 infections by giving full compliance to SOPs, keeping 1-meter social distancing, wearing a mask, minimising points of contact, reducing social circles and unnecessary trips,” he pointed out.
Ramadan Solidarity
“In solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters during Ramadan month, let us intensify our good work with acts of kindness. I encourage people of all faiths and goodwill to pray and invoke God for protection and intervention in our worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Love God and neighbour. Stay positive and healthy. Keep safe and take care of each other,” Archbishop Simon Poh advised.
