Malaysian ex-health minister says procurement of vaccines proper

102
1
Malaysian ex-health minister says procurement of vaccines proper

On Wednesday, former Malaysian health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that prior investigations by authorities on the procurement of COVID 19 vaccines found that all purchases were approved by the required government bodies.

In an interview with The Star, Mr Khairy stated that investigations by the Public Accounts Committee PAC in 2021 found that the procurement of vaccines was proper. This was confirmed by the PAC, which investigated the matter, said Mr Khairy, who was Minister for Science, Technology, and Innovation at the time.

He maintained that the procurement was conducted with the approval of necessary parties.

All vaccine procurement was made with approval from the Cabinet and the Treasury, taking into account views from all agencies, he was quoted as saying by The Star.

Khairy said that he is confident in the presence of a White Paper by the health ministry in the next Parliament session and that he will be able to answer any questions about the procurements.

According to Bernama, some parts of the COVID 19 vaccine procurement were not signed off by the then-health minister without the approval of the attorney general.

This White Paper will be tabled because irregularities were detected in the early stages. It is believed that the procurement of vaccines did not follow regulations or the required process.

The prime minister said at a post-Cabinet press conference that the procurement of certain types of vaccine was very doubtful in terms of the amount and cost involved.