Minister demands RM30 million, apology from C4 on MoH contract claims

Health Minister Dr Adham Baba.

PETALING JAYA: Health Minister Dr Adham Baba has issued a letter of demand for RM30 million in damages against the Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4 Center), a day after the NGO linked him to a company being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over a contract worth the same amount.

In the letter, Adham’s lawyers said C4 Center had seven days to pay the amount and to issue a public apology, failing which they would initiate legal action against the NGO.

Their attempt to serve the letter to C4 Consultancies Sdn Bhd, the company under which C4 Center operates, was unsuccessful as the office in Petaling Jaya was closed today.

FMT understands that they are trying to deliver the letter to another address in Brickfields registered under the Companies Commission of Malaysia, failing which they will turn to the address of the company secretary in Gombak.

Lawyer Nasser Yusof sticking the letter of demand on the shutters of C4 Center’s office in Petaling Jaya.

The health minister had yesterday dismissed C4 Center’s accusation, calling it a malicious attempt at character assassination.

A statement issued by his office said Adham had no business interests in the Khazanah Jaya Sdn Bhd named by C4 Center, nor any relationship with its shareholders.

C4 Center had alleged a connection between the contract parties and a shareholder in Adham’s company which owns a chain of private clinics in Johor.

It said the shareholder was on the board of another company which included two directors from Khazanah Jaya.

Shamsul Najmi Shamsuddin, political secretary to Health Minister Dr Adham Baba, with a copy of the letter of demand sent to C4 Center this morning.

But the ministry said the shareholder, Iskandar Miza Ahmad, had left the board of the other company on Jan 30, 2015 while the two Khazanah Jaya directors, Tan Boon Keong and Tan Jiat Jui, only joined on his last day.

MACC launched an investigation into several contracts allegedly awarded after direct negotiations by the health ministry to procure equipment to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak. The equipment included test kits and protective gear.

The anti-graft commission earlier denied reports claiming that several health ministry officers were arrested in raids over the matter. - FMT