The government has found improprieties in the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines, according to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He said more details will be revealed in a White Paper on Covid-19 vaccine procurement, to be tabled by Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa in the next Parliament session.
"It did not follow procedure and was signed by the minister without the agreement of the Attorney-General's Chambers," Anwar said at a post-cabinet press conference in Putrajaya today.
He said there were also issues related to compliance, management and approval which did not follow procedures, as well as matters involving the cost and amount of vaccines.
The MACC launched a probe into Covid-19 vaccine procurements last year.
It is unclear if the minister Anwar referred to was former health minister Dr Adham Baba or his successor, Khairy Jamaluddin.
There was an overlap in vaccine procurement between the Health Ministry headed by Adham, and the Science, Technology, and Innovation Ministry headed by Khairy in 2020 and 2021.
Both Adham and Khairy have said they will cooperate with the MACC on the probe.
Without naming which former minister is answerable for the alleged impropriety, Anwar said, “The main issue is not who was the minister, but the ministers involved should answer and give an explanation on the matter.”
The Finance Ministry had previously delegated the finalisation of the vaccine procurement to the Health Ministry and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.
This was to help expedite the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
Meanwhile, Anwar said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said is preparing to table a white paper on the Pulau Batu Puteh’s (Pedra Blanca) sovereignty issue.
“The issue we face is special task force’s report objects to the decision not to appeal (the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision) that resulted in the loss of a Malaysian territory, and as you know the loss of territory is a major issue for any country,” he said.
Previously, Attorney-General Idrus Harun had said Malaysia’s withdrawal of its two applications to review the court judgement was inappropriate and not done in an orderly manner.
The ICJ ruled on May 23, 2008, that Singapore has sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh whereas Malaysia has sovereignty over Batuan Tengah (Middle Rocks). On Feb 3, 2017, Malaysia applied to review the decision.
In 2018, however, the then-Pakatan Harapan government under Dr Mahathir Mohamad withdrew the application before the case was scheduled to be heard on June 11, 2018.
On Dec 14 last year, Anwar wanted the Pulau Batu Puteh dispute to be revisited so meaningful negotiations can be held with Singapore.
He added he has explained to his Singapore counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong that Malaysia’s decision would not affect bilateral ties.
“It would not affect Batu Puteh’s status either, which now belongs to Singapore in line with the ICJ decision.
“It is the weakness in violating due process that needs to be addressed… So, the cabinet has discussed at length regarding measures that need to be taken and the decision is up to the Parliament’s wisdom,” he said. - Mkini
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