Sabah's chief minister, Hajiji Noor, said today that if at least 60% of the population gets vaccinated, the state can reopen more companies and service sectors, including tourism.

In order to achieve this, he requested that the federal government expedite the delivery of 600,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to Sabah this month, and 1.2 million doses by the end of August.

He reiterated his appeal for Putrajaya to accelerate vaccine shipment to the state, saying, "We want to preserve the momentum to guarantee that people are vaccinated as quickly as possible."

Hajiji made the remarks during a meeting with the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) committee, which was led by its president Tan Kok Liang, in his office in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

He went on to say that the state had opened 151 vaccination centers (PPVs) across Sabah and mobilized outreach programs to the interior, but that the sluggish supply had hampered their efforts.

The public-private partnership Covid-19 industrial immunisation program, or Pikas, which was set to begin this month was also hampered by the vaccine shortage.

“We intend to reach our daily objective of 30,000 people vaccinated under the national Covid-19 vaccination program (PICK) this month,” he said.

Meanwhile, in response to Matta's suggestions for restoring Sabah's post-Covid-19 tourism economy, Hajiji stated that he will ensure that the state's tourism industry recovers through a thorough tourism recovery strategy.

He said the government has set aside RM2.88 million through the tourism, culture, and environment ministry for distribution to impacted tour guides, dive masters, mountain guides, porters, hoteliers, and homestay operators under the Bantuan Sabah Prihatin (BSP) 3.0.

The chief minister also stated that he will be visiting with mountain guides shortly to offer support and to watch the Kundasang highlands' vaccination program for tourism entrepreneurs.