SCIENCE, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin is prepared to apprise the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the procurement process for a Covid-19 vaccine.

He said this following DAP leader Lim Kit Siang’s repeated claim that Malaysia was paying 20 times more than Belgium for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The Iskandar Puteri MP had said Malaysians were entitled to know how much the government was really paying for the vaccine in the face of confusion over the price.

Khairy said the non-disclosure agreement signed with the vaccine manufacturers are bound by confidentiality clauses, therefore the details on the cost per unit cannot be revealed.

“My stance is to respect the terms of the agreement because it is important that we get the vaccine supply for the people,” he said in a press conference today.

“However, since this matter has been raised as a political debate, especially by YB Lim Kit Siang, hence I have offered to brief the Public Accounts Committee chaired by YB Ipoh Timur (Wong Kah Woh) from DAP as well as members of the committee comprising of lawmakers from the government and opposition,” he added.

Khairy has no qualms explaining the details of the procurement to the PAC given that the committee is ready to comply to the confidentiality clause.

He added that he is concerned that if the matter persists, it might erode the people’s confidence and spark vaccine hesitancy.

Putrajaya has committed RM2.05 billion (US$504.4 million) for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines to inoculate 82.8% of the population.

The cost includes the agreements inked with Covax, Pfizer and AstraZeneca along with three other deals that are still being finalised.

Putrajaya is also in talks with China-based Sinovac and CanSinoBIO as well as Russia’s Gamaleya National Centre for the procurement of vaccines. – December 23, 2020.