Santiago calls for review of medicine tender system

DAP's Klang MP says prices may be artifically high if whistleblower's bombshell account about tenders being rigged is true.

Charles Santiago says FMT’s expose shows that prices may have been kept artificially high.

PETALING JAYA: The government must investigate “bombshell” revelations about the supply of medical drugs in the national health system, and review the procurement process, says Charles Santiago of DAP, who is incoming MP for Klang.

He said the government must investigate allegations that companies linked to politicians close to the previous government had control over the supply of billions of ringgit worth of medical drugs.

Santiago, who has been vocal on the issue of high prices of medicines, said the procurement process must be reviewed if investigations proved the accuracy of yesterday’s FMT expose.

A 12-page dossier provided by a whistleblower gave details of how 20 companies with links to prominent politicians, including former ministers in the top echelons of the Umno leadership, had acted as “tendering agents” between 2013 and 2016, reaping contracts worth a total of RM3.7 billion.

“This is a bombshell. At a time people are asking for lower medicine prices, such claims show that prices may be kept artificially high by big corporations, politicians and former government servants who are actively involved in securing lucrative government contracts.

“If this is indeed the practice of the past, then it cannot, and must not, be a practice in the Pakatan Harapan era. So if these allegations are true, an immediate and major review of the government’s procurement process must be carried out in the interests of the people.”

He added that since the matter was now in the public domain, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should carry out investigations and secure any necessary documents from relevant parties.

“We must review any culture where government contracts are procured through interests groups by influence. Too many people suffer from the inability to afford medicine while certain parties profit, it’s just not right.”

Yesterday, FMT’s report said the whistleblower’s dossier alleged that international pharmaceutical companies had used local “tendering agents” to rig bids for government contracts. The agents are paid a percentage of commission based on every tender won, and earn a clean profit without any marketing, logistics or distribution activities.

Recently, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the government intended to review the public healthcare procurement process. -FMT