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Adham Baba should be held accountable for faulty ventilators: DAP lawmaker | Scoop
Kampar MP Chong Zhemin also said the government needs to abolish the ‘Alibaba’ practice – procurement through a third party which can cause services to cost three times their original price. – Parlimen Malaysia screengrab, November 20, 2023
News

Adham Baba should be held accountable for faulty ventilators: DAP lawmaker

Chong Zhemin is surprised Wee Ka Siong, the transport minister at the time, is subject of criticism instead of the then health minister

Main Author Image
Rebecca Chong
Updated
1:40 PM MYT

 

KUALA LUMPUR – Former health minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba is the one to blame for the procurement of unusable ventilators, not the then transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong, according to DAP lawmaker Chong Zhemin (Kampar-PH).

Chong said that the media has been targeting Wee over the procurement of 104 faulty ventilators during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he was transport minister and was not tasked to handle health matters.

“Why are they (media) blaming Ayer Hitam MP (Wee)? I would like to defend Ayer Hitam. This was the then-health minister’s fault.

“What kind of arrangement was this that the transport minister had to handle health matters? Is it because of the then-health minister’s failure that the transport minister had to negotiate (the procurement of ventilators) on behalf of the health minister?

“It is the last person who approved the procurement who should be responsible, and that person is Adham Baba. I hope the Parliament will take action on this (against Adham),” he said when debating the Supply Bill 2024 (Budget 2024) at the committee level for the Health Ministry.

Chong stressed the matter is serious not solely because it involved the government’s money, but that it involved people’s lives as the ventilators were meant to save lives.

He also highlighted the need for the government to abolish the ‘Alibaba’ practice – procurement through a third party or a middleman which had caused the ventilators to cost three times their original price.

Meanwhile, on a separate matter, Chong questioned if the PAS-led Kelantan government is going to stop using the Mercedes Benz vehicles it had purchased, saying that the Mercedes-Benz Group had recently donated €1 million (RM5.1 million) to Israel.

“The other day you (PAS MPs) wanted to boycott the Malaysian Airlines’ food box for containing beverages from Starbucks. You boycott Starbucks and McDonald; don’t have double standards on this, boycott all.

“Now money has been donated to Israel, shouldn’t you stop using the Kelantan government’s Mercedes Benz vehicles?” he said. – November 20, 2023

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