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PETALING JAYA – Malaysia’s Health Ministry bought more than 100 defective ventilators at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 but could not hold any party liable because there was no written agreement, an investigation found.

Deals on the emergency procurement of ventilators during the Covid-19 pandemic had to be done through WhatsApp due to the sheer urgency of the situation, revealed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the management of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The committee found that 104 of the 136 ventilators supplied by Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd (PLSB) to the Health Ministry during the pandemic were defective, but no party was able to take responsibility as there was a lack of a written agreement between PLSB and the Health Ministry.

It also said in the report that PLSB was directed to make an advance payment for the ventilators due to its existing relationship with the Health Ministry, despite the company having no experience and expertise in the procurement of medical equipment such as ventilators.

“Due to the extraordinary situation the world was facing at the time, emergency procurement was implemented to obtain supplies such as vaccines, ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other equipment to deal with the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic,” said the committee.

It added that the discussions, evaluation and decisions relating to the procurement of ventilators had to be done via WhatsApp – which was not standard procedure – due to constraints during lockdown as well as the urgency and direness of the situation at that time.

The committee said that the absence of a written agreement between the Health Ministry and PLSB meant that no party could be held accountable for the 104 ventilator units that could not function.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-buys-104-defective-ventilators-during-covid-19-pandemic-via-whatsapp-with-no-contract-inked

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