Photo: Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry will continue to cooperate with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over findings on the management of the Covid-19 outbreak and is preparing a report to be submitted to the committee, says minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
She said the ministry has given its full cooperation on the matter.
“We are in the midst of preparing our response to the PAC. If there is any more information which the committee requires, we will cooperate,” she said after the ministry’s Integrity Day on Wednesday (Nov 15).
Also present were Deputy Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauneh and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Khusairi Yahaya.
However, Dr Zaliha did not elaborate on details of the report.
On Tuesday, PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin had said that the Health Ministry was expected to present its reply on the committee’s recommendations next month.
This comes after the PAC tabled a report in Parliament On Oct 30 revealing issues in the procurement of unusable ventilators via WhatsApp, expiry of vaccines and over-purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE).
In the report, the PSB stated that 104 out of the 136 ventilators supplied by Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd (PLSB) in May 2020, procured for Covid-19 patients through WhatsApp at a cost of RM24.1mil, ended up being unusable.
Among the recommendations of the bi-partisan committee was that the ministry re-examine the warranty status of the 136 ventilators and to take action against those responsible.
On another matter, Dr Zaliha said the ministry has managed to repair an additional 75 dilapidated clinics using the RM111mil allocation, thanks to good governance and efficient use of public funds.
“The allocation was meant to repair 436 of such clinics but due to efficient spending, we could repair more using the same budget,” she added.
On dispatching medical volunteers to Gaza, Dr Zaliha said that applications had been opened for those who want to volunteer.
She said those who signed up would undergo mental and physical training to prepare them to be in a conflict situation.
On Monday, the ministry said that it was prepared to send medical volunteers to the Gaza Strip once it is allowed.
