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  • 11/20/2023
The minister who was ultimately responsible for ventilator procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic should be called up to answer for any issues, says a Pakatan Harapan lawmaker.

When debating Budget 2024 at the committee stage on Monday (Nov 20), Chong Zhemin (PH-Kampar) questioned why Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam), who was transport minister at the time, had to be questioned by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for his supposed involvement in the procurement process.

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Transcript
00:00 Before this, there were many media that played with issue of ventilator.
00:05 I quote from the Code Blue.
00:07 "MOH China contract for defective ventilators came from Minister Wee, PAC report."
00:13 The start.
00:14 "No accountability not acceptable in ventilator procurement."
00:17 MalayMailOnline.
00:19 "More than a wee bit of issue with ventilator procurement."
00:23 I thought that Ayi Itam was the Minister of Health.
00:26 But I checked Wikipedia, he was not.
00:28 He was the Minister of Transport.
00:29 So how could the media play with this issue?
00:32 Why blame Ayi Itam?
00:34 So today I want to blame Ayi Itam.
00:37 This is not a responsibility.
00:40 This is the job of the Minister of Health.
00:43 Why play with this issue?
00:45 Is this a sign of failure of the National Association of Minister of Health?
00:51 Not doing their job.
00:52 Until they are forced to do their job.
00:56 We see, this is not about money.
00:58 If we look at the budget, it's not a lot.
01:00 24 million.
01:02 24 million.
01:03 If we look at the budget, it's hundreds of billions.
01:06 24 million is a little.
01:08 But this involves lives.
01:10 If the money is stolen, we can get it back.
01:13 But if the lives are lost, we can't save them.
01:17 So today I want to ask,
01:19 why could Ayi Itam be included?
01:22 Why could Code Blue say,
01:24 "This idea, this contract from China, came from Ayi Itam"?
01:28 Even though Ayi Itam's party attacks the government every day, it's okay.
01:33 But he's in parliament, together with Tan Jumpiai, still supporting the government.
01:37 As long as he supports the government, I will support Ayi Itam.
01:41 But promise, don't give science and technology to others.
01:44 Enough.
01:45 So I want to ask,
01:47 in that debate,
01:50 if the Minister of Health doesn't have a contract,
01:53 could Ayi Itam just give a contract?
01:55 No.
01:56 In the PAC report, Ayi Itam helped run the campaign.
02:00 The Minister of Transport ran the campaign,
02:02 and the Minister of Health gave a contract.
02:04 What kind of arrangement is this?
02:06 How is it possible?
02:07 He ran the campaign, and then bought it.
02:08 Not bought it with a loan.
02:10 Who did he buy it from?
02:11 He bought it from a trading company.
02:13 A trading company, Alibaba.
02:16 So I'm very happy,
02:18 the Minister of Economy,
02:20 said that we must have a contract to prevent Alibaba's practices.
02:24 We must bring it to parliament.
02:26 We can't allow that.
02:27 If we want to buy it, we buy it from the source.
02:31 Why did we buy it three times more expensive
02:34 than a trading company?
02:35 Third party.
02:37 And who is the traitor?
02:38 The Minister of Transport.
02:39 So I want to ask,
02:41 who has the final authority?
02:44 Because the PAC report said,
02:47 this is a mistake.
02:49 There is no one who needs to be held accountable.
02:51 How is that possible?
02:53 This is the same as the foreign exchange scandal in the 90s.
02:58 The money is gone.
02:59 No one needs to be held accountable.
03:01 What is the accountability here?
03:04 Who is the one who gives the final authority,
03:06 the final approver?
03:07 That person is the one who needs to be held accountable.
03:09 And to me, that person is no one else
03:12 but the Minister of Health of the National Assembly, Adam Babah.
03:16 He is the Minister who is held accountable.
03:18 It doesn't matter if the black water needs to be pumped.
03:21 He goes to pump it,
03:23 his company goes to look for it,
03:24 his trading company goes to look for it,
03:25 but the final approver comes from the Minister of Health.
03:27 So he is the one who needs to be held accountable.
03:29 So I hope,
03:31 parliament, we can take action.
03:35 Because this is not about money.
03:37 This is about lives.
03:39 And also the black water.
03:40 At that time, the ventilator arrived.
03:43 He posted on Facebook,
03:45 "Wow, this is the ventilator I brought from my mother,
03:47 as the Minister of Health.
03:48 The credit has been raised."
03:49 I have to say this.
03:50 The credit has been raised.
03:52 But today,
03:54 70, 80 thousand ventilators are not allowed to be used.
03:57 Not allowed to be used.
03:58 So he has to inform,
03:59 has to give followers.
04:00 At that time, his credit has been raised.
04:01 This time, he has to update.
04:03 The ventilator that I helped to raise,
04:05 is not allowed to be used.
04:06 Can't be saved.
04:07 This has to be told.
04:08 So I want to ask,
04:10 why,
04:11 even though the ventilator was given from Hong Kong,
04:14 but the product came from Shanghai?
04:18 Meaning, it came from a factory.
04:20 From a factory.
04:21 If it came from a factory,
04:22 why did it have to be bought from Hong Kong?
04:25 This is all Alibaba's practice.
04:27 This is all Alibaba's practice.
04:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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