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Malaysia had always bought its ventilators from European firms.
This was the first time Malaysia ordered ventilators from China. Cheated!
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Code Blue
MOH’s China Contact For Defective Ventilators Came From Minister Wee: PAC Report
By CodeBlue | 31 October 2023
According to PAC’s report, Pharmaniaga claimed MOH told it where to source ventilators from, which then turned out to be defective. Then-Minister Wee Ka Siong gave MOH a China contact for the ventilators as established European suppliers were “closed” at the time.
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 – Ministry of Health (MOH) officials say that the idea to seek ventilators from China, at a time when over half of the world was in lockdown, did not originate within the ministry but rather came from then-Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong.
According to meeting transcripts published in the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) Covid management report released in Parliament yesterday, Wee surprisingly played an active role in every aspect of the ventilator procurement process from China in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This included getting contacts, identifying suppliers, presenting quotations, overseeing the transaction, and arranging the transportation of the ventilators to Malaysia.
Ultimately, 104 of 136 ventilators supplied by Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd (PLSB) to Malaysia’s MOH during the pandemic turned out to be defective, according to the PAC’s investigation.
The bipartisan parliamentary committee did not hold anyone accountable for the supply of malfunctioning ventilators, citing the absence of a written contract between the MOH and PLSB on procurement of the crucial equipment that was meant to save lives.
Former MOH secretary-general Chen Chaw Min said many ministers provided valuable input during National Security Council (MKN) meetings, including Wee, whose connection with China and insights into repatriating Malaysians stranded abroad due to Covid lockdowns prompted him to step in and assist in the country’s desperate need for more ventilators.
“During MKN meetings, there were many different ministers present, including Wee. He was involved with MAS (Malaysia Airlines), as transport minister, to facilitate the return of the first Malaysians stranded abroad (due to lockdowns).
“From there, he (Wee) gave us a lot of input that if we were to purchase ventilators from China, we would have problems with transportation, which MASkargo could assist. That was where he stepped in.
“Then, he mentioned also that through – the Special Envoy to China, Wisma Putra, Matrade – we could get contacts.
“A lot of ministers during MKN [meetings] provided a lot of input to help. Then-Minister of International and Trade Azmin Ali pointed out that Pharmaniaga was also receiving a lot of donations. So, it was all fast-paced,” Chen told the PAC in a meeting on August 22.
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In a separate meeting on September 14, PLSB chief operating officer Mohamed Iqbal Abdul Rahman said it marked the MOH’s first attempt to procure ventilators from China. PLSB is a fully-owned subsidiary of local pharmaceutical company Pharmaniaga Bhd.
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He added that there were several WhatsApp groups created over the course of the procurement process, with the main group involving Chen, Pharmaniaga’s MD, and Wee’s senior private secretary Wong Lee Yen, representing the Ministry of Transport (MOT).
“Our contacts were via the transport minister at that time, who had good contact with China, and would provide instructions to the Health secretary-general, and the latter would then order Pharmaniaga’s managing director to make the payment and receive the order.”
Ex-Pharmaniaga MD Farshila Emran, in the same meeting on September 14, said that Wee would deal with MOH’s Chen, who would send specifications to the Health Ministry’s technical and specifications unit and, if approved, will proceed to make the procurement, with Pharmaniaga making the payment.
“That is where Pharmaniaga takes charge – only to make the payment. After that, we wait for the delivery. As Wee was transport minister at that point in time, he worked with MAS,” Farshila said.
Wee was summoned by the PAC on September 21 to explain his role in the ventilator procurement.
“At that time, on March 25, 2020, it was a critical moment. When that decision was made, we assisted because I saw it every time, every day, it was reported [in the news] that we wanted to purchase (the ventilators), but we didn’t know where to buy.
“At that time, I sought help from my friends in China, including China’s ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian, and I asked where to find them. His counsellor said, ‘Let’s try to see if we can get a contact’. At that time, there was no mention of Pharmaniaga yet.
“When we obtained the contact, I passed it on to the Health Ministry. I called Chen myself. It was not the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) to initiate the process so we handed it over to Chen,” Wee said.
Wee, who had received a brochure from ventilator manufacturers in China, was questioned by the PAC about why the procurement process involved Hong Kong Smart Investment companies, a trading house, rather than dealing directly with manufacturers.
Read the rest:
https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2023/10/31/mohs-china-contact-for-defective-ventilators-came-from-minister-wee-pac-report/
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weehingthong 