Malaysia faces calls for probe as report shows faulty ventilators bought ‘over WhatsApp’ during Covid-19
- Officials spent US$100 million on some 8.5 million vaccine doses that went unused, while US$4.2 million was wasted on mostly faulty ventilators, a parliamentary report said
- The pharmaceutical firm which bought the ventilators had ‘no prior experience or expertise’ in buying medical devices, the report added
Some 8.5 million unused vaccine doses expired in June this year worth 505 million ringgit (US$100 million), the report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said, while a further US$4.2 million was wasted on the procurement of 136 ventilators, of which only 32 worked.
“Every single ventilator delivered did not have the correct plug point for Malaysian use,” said the PAC report, which was released late on Monday. “Even after converting to the correct plug point, each ventilator faced different issues across hardware, accessories and software.”
The health ministry picked up the tab for the ventilators, bought in March 2020 from China by Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd (PLSB), a unit of Malaysia’s largest pharmaceutical company, which had no “prior experience or expertise” in buying medical devices.
Damningly, parliament was told there was no contract drawn up between the health ministry and PLSB, which meant “no party can be held responsible”.
The “ventilators did not meet specifications after inspection on arrival”, the report added, revealing the procurement process was “carried out over WhatsApp, including approval of specifications and instructions to proceed with payment”.
“This is no simple procurement process that should be done through WhatsApp … like shopping on Taobao or Shoppee, as it involves millions of public funds,” said Kelvin Yii, a government backbencher and doctor who has steered parliamentary health committees.
Officials throughout the decision-making chain must be identified to establish why basic procedures were not followed, including due diligence on the suppliers, he said, after a failure which jeopardised patient care and put healthcare professionals in the “impossible position” of deciding who got to use the limited number of ventilators available.
Lawyer Lim Wei Jiet also called for heads to roll as no procurement contract for the ventilators was drawn up, calling it a “huge flaw” in the process.
“And I don’t agree MoH [Ministry of Health] has no legal recourse against Pharmaniaga due to no written contract. PAC/Gov should get comprehensive legal advice,” Lim, a co-founder of youth party Muda, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The PAC said the procurement documents should have been properly reviewed despite the emergency scenario, and recommended the health ministry take “the necessary action against the responsible parties”.
“Public officials must make sure public interest is always preserved when making procurements during emergencies,” it added.
Others said the PAC report vindicated officials who had faced accusations of corruption during the pandemic, which posed unforeseen challenges to government departments.
“Important to tell the truth about this as many lies have been told to discredit the good work of those in MoH who worked around the clock to save us from Covid,” MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman said in reference to the health ministry in a post on X.
For many ordinary Malaysians, however, the PAC’s findings revived calls for accountability for failures during a time of national crisis.
“You’re telling us it’s OK to buy useless and faulty products with no consequences whatsoever …?” read one response to Syed Saddiq’s post on X. “This is crazy talk.”
