The Health Ministry has been given a two-month deadline by the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to address the issues in managing the Covid-19 outbreak. PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin announced during a press conference on November 2 that a letter will be sent to the Health Ministry, giving them two months to respond to the five recommendations provided by the committee. The PAC will later hold a meeting to assess if the recommendations have been implemented prior to presenting them in Parliament. Mas Ermieyati added that the public can evaluate the government’s actions based on the recommendations put forth by the PAC.
On October 30, the PAC presented a report in Parliament highlighting various shortcomings including the procurement of unusable ventilators, expiry of vaccines, and the over-purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE). Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd (PLSB) supplied 136 ventilators to the Health Ministry at a cost of RM24.1 million in May 2020, out of which 104 units were found to be unusable. The report also revealed that 8.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines worth RM505 million had expired as of June 15, 2023. Additionally, 850,000 PPE boot covers worth RM927,000 must be utilized before the end of 2024.
One of the recommendations made by the bipartisan committee is for the ministry to reassess the warranty status of the 136 ventilators and take necessary action against those responsible. The committee also suggests using the excess PPE boot covers before their expiry date and ensuring proper documentation for transactions even in emergency situations. The PAC report explicitly states that the shortcomings occurred under the tenure of former Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
Mas Ermieyati responded to former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s statement in his weekly podcast, “Keluar Sekejap,” where he denied passing the blame but acknowledged the purchase of 83 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines during his time in office.
