KUALA LUMPUR – Graft watchdog Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) is calling for Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa to give an action plan on holding those responsible to account following the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) findings on the procurement of unusable ventilators.
TI-M president Muhammad Mohan said the minister needs to make public or share in Parliament on how her ministry can prevent such leakages from happening as a pandemic is not an excuse to violate procurement SOPs.
He also said that the former health minister and the secretary-general should explain how this happened under their watch.
“The PAC report clearly indicates that the culture of accountability is almost non-existent in the public procurement system. It is shocking to know that deals on emergency procurement of ventilators were done by WhatsApp.
“The official procurement confirmation must come through a proper supply contract with clear specifications of the product, the warranties, suppliers obligations on the testing and commissioning, deliverables and technical support.
“It is also shocking that Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd was asked to play a middleman role to supply 136 ventilators worth RM24.1 million without a proper contract,” said Muhammad in a statement today.
Meanwhile, Zaliha’s special adviser Dr Kelvin Yii said those responsible for procuring the unusable ventilators should be identified and held accountable.
The Bandar Kuching MP also suggested the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission step in to investigate if there was undue influence in the selection of suppliers from China who ultimately delivered ventilators that failed to work.
The Malaysian Medical Association today also called into question the procurement of the ventilators, saying proper documentation should have been done.
“How 104 out of 136 delivered ventilators were unusable without any party being held accountable demands a thorough explanation for the Malaysian public.
“This issue not only involves a substantial amount of public funds but may also have significantly impacted the management of severe Covid-19 cases in the country.”
The PAC report released yesterday affirmed earlier findings by the Auditor-General’s Report that Pharmaniaga Logistics had supplied the Health Ministry with only 28 usable ventilators, out of 500 units ordered.
Another 108 ventilators, among the 136 that were delivered to ministry facilities between April and May 2020, were not safe for patient use.
The PAC report added that RM23.03 million was spent in total for the 136 units that were delivered and for repairs and replacements on the unusable ones. – October 31, 2023