KUALA LUMPUR – The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has found that there are a total of 8.5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine worth RM505 million that have expired since June 1 this year.
This is despite the fact that the expiry date for these items had been extended by up to 18 months from the date the vaccine was produced.
The PAC also found a conflict of information between the Health Ministry (MoH) and Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd (PLSB), related to the existence of the warranty for all 136 ventilator units that were purchased.
Additionally, most of the personal protective equipment (PPE) will still be able to be used before the expiry date.
However, there is a risk that over 850,000 units of boot covers will expire at the end of 2024. This would entail wastage of some RM927,000 if this PPE stock cannot be used.
The PAC said that it believes that if the quantity of unused stock can be lessened, then the value of the loss to MoH will also be reduced.
It said this in its report titled “Covid-19 Outbreak Management Report: Expired Vaccines, Unusable and Surplus Personal Ventilator Equipment Protective Equipment (PPE)”, which was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today.
No contract on ventilator acquisitions
Glaringly, it said that there was no written agreement or contract between MoH and PLSB on the procurement of the ventilators. This means that none of the parties can be held accountable for action regarding the failure of 104 ventilator units to function.
Even MoH's legal advisor was not consulted during the process of preparing the letter of appointment to PLSB, the report added.
It revealed that until now the uncertainty of PLSB's role in the matter has resulted in the process of taking legal action being unimplemented.
"PLSB did not sign any contract with the supplier and informed PAC that all purchase order documents and quotation documents show that the ventilator warranty is between the Malaysian government and the supplier,” the report said.
It stressed that PLSB only managed the delivery of ventilators to the MoH facilities and help the ministry contact the manufacturer on the warranty of ventilators that could not be used.
However, MoH informed that there was no warranty during the purchase of ventilators by PLSB.
Warranties were only given for ventilators that were upgraded following an price negotiation meeting for emergency procurement September 1, 2020, the report said.
Purchases made under pressing circumstances
The 120-page report also revealed that discussions, evaluations and decisions regarding the procurement of ventilators had to be carried out outside of the norm, which was through the WhatsApp chat app due to constraints posed by the Movement Control Order (MCO) and the urgency of the situation at that time.
According to the report, due to the extraordinary situation facing the world at the time, emergency procurement was implemented to obtain supplies of vaccines, ventilators, PPE and other equipment to deal with the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.
"At that time, the world was faced with a shortage of medical equipment which caused a scramble," it said. "Failure to make an immediate decision would have denied the country the opportunity to get supplies and cause further loss of life." – The Vibes, October 30, 2023
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