THE Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) calls on the authorities to take action against the company which purchased defective ventilators for the Health Ministry (MOH) during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the peak of the pandemic in 2020 the cabinet was informed of the need for 800 ventilators, following which the MOH had paid RM30 million to a company to buy 500 units of ventilators.

Due to supply constraints, the company managed to secure only 136 ventilator units for RM20.12 million, a price reported to be four times higher than the usual rate. However, it was found that 104 of the ventilators were unusable.

Earlier this month, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reported that no action could be taken over the issue as the MOH did not have a written agreement with the company for the acquisition of the equipment.

The PAC has failed in its duty to hold to account those responsible for the purchase of the unusable ventilators. The reason for that is unacceptable.

There would be documentary and oral evidence of the process leading to the purchase of the faulty ventilators, which would disclose if there was any gross negligence, or even corruption, on the part of those involved in the decision-making.  

The PAC should have recommended that the law enforcement agencies investigate the case and take action against those culpable.  

A medical ventilator is a machine that pumps oxygen into the lungs. For Covid patients, it is a life-saving machine. It is shocking that such negligence had occurred. The faulty ventilators not only wasted public funds but had also put the lives of patients at risk.

The PAC report said that the culture of accountability is almost non-existent in the public procurement system. The deals on emergency procurement of ventilators were done via WhatsApp.

Even in the face of a pandemic, official procurement should come be done with a proper supply contract with clear specifications of the product, the warranties, suppliers’ obligations on the testing and commissioning, deliverables, and technical support. The procurement must follow the set standard operating procedure of the ministry.

Despite not having experience and expertise in medical equipment procurement the company was instructed to make advance payments for ventilators following its existing relationship with MOH. The deal was secured based on the visual impression that the ventilators in the brochure met MOH requirements

According to the PAC report, the ventilators were unusable as the plug points differed from the plug points in Malaysia. However, each ventilator had different problems in terms of hardware, accessories, and software. The procurement involved 11 ventilator models from four manufacturers. 

It is shocking that MOH had appointed the company to be a middleman to supply ventilators costing RM24.1 million without a proper contract. Where was MOH’s integrity and compliance unit, which is required to oversee all purchases?

CAP believes that more should be done to demand accountability from those responsible for their dereliction of duty. The parties who are responsible for the “clear negligence” in the ventilator scandal exposed by the Auditor-General’s Report must be identified and punished. – December 3, 2023.

Mohideen Abdul Kader is Consumers’ Association of Penang president.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.