Bad ventilators: MMA wants explanation why heads not rolling

 

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz said the public deserves a “thorough explanation” on the reason heads are not rolling over the procurement of unusable ventilators amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

“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.

“It’s imperative that this issue is not brushed aside, and we must insist on complete accountability,” she added in a statement this morning.

Azizan was responding to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report that 104 of the 136 ventilators were defective.

PAC also stated that due to the absence of a contractual agreement, no one could be held responsible for the blunder.

Azizan said this episode highlighted the urgent need for robust emergency procurement policies to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.

“The PAC report on the procurement of ventilators supplied to the government during the pandemic raises more questions than answers.

“The dealings for the procurement of ventilators may have taken place at a most extraordinary time, however, if the usual procurement process was not possible, at the very least, proper documentation should have been insisted upon.

“Documents, including signed documents, could have still been shared via WhatsApp,” she added.

Azizan said if Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd (PLSB) did not have experience in the procurement of medical equipment, this would have made it more pertinent to insist on proper documentation for transparency and accountability.

Earlier, Malaysiakini reported the PAC as stating that the Health Ministry and Pharmaniaga Bhd traded blame over the faulty ventilators.

The committee said there was no contractual agreement signed between the two with regard to the procurement, where PLSB, which is a subsidiary of Pharmaniaga, acted as an intermediary between the Health Ministry and suppliers in China.

The absence of an agreement also prevented the government from initiating legal action to recover losses incurred.

New procurement Bill

PAC also found that the government sustained RM505 million in losses due to expired Covid-19 vaccines.

Last month, the Prime Minister’s Office said a Bill to strengthen governance involving government procurement will be drafted.

“The Government Procurement Bill is aimed at increasing accountability among those involved in government procurement,” it added. - Mkini