SHAH ALAM: Klang MP Charles Santiago has lodged a report with the anti-graft body following allegations that former ministers and elected representatives were among those implicated in the monopoly of prices of medical supplies.
Their names and the companies they were linked to were contained in a report submitted by Santiago to the Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday.
Senior civil servants in the Health Ministry as well as government appointees on the 1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB) were also among the accused listed in the almost 150-page report.
About 20 companies linked to leaders from the previous government are alleged to have been tendering agents between the ministry and pharmaceutical companies.
“Out of these 20 companies, three are family-owned companies that control 75% of the country’s pharmaceutical business,” Santiago claimed.
He also alleged that these agents had received contracts worth RM3.7bil between 2013 and 2016.
“These companies were also tendering agents for medical supplies and equipment,” he said.
He said the amount stipulated only covered the deals with the Health Ministry.
“The amount is much higher as these companies also supply to the Defence and Education ministries,” Santiago claimed.
Due to the high commissions involved, he said the prices of medication in Malaysia were 30% to 148% higher than what were sold in other countries.
Such high costs, Santiago claimed, had led to shortages of drugs in public healthcare facilities.
“The government could not afford then to buy medicine for the people on several occasions not long ago,” he alleged.- Star
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