PETALING JAYA: The Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) probe on Covid-19 vaccine procurement found that all acquisitions were approved by Putrajaya, says former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pic).
The procurement of all vaccines, he added, was properly done after taking the perspectives of all government agencies into account.
“All vaccine procurement was made with approval from the Cabinet and the Treasury, taking into account views from all agencies.
“The procurement was proper. This was confirmed by the PAC, which investigated the matter,” Khairy told The Star yesterday.
Khairy was also confident in answering questions in relation to this.
“Of course,” said Khairy when asked about the government’s plans to table a White Paper by the Health Ministry in the coming Parliament session.
PAC had probed Covid-19 vaccine procurements in 2021.
During the investigation, Khairy, former Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, and former Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz were questioned.
Attempts to contact Dr Adham were unsuccessful as of press time, and attempts to contact former PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh were also futile.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said some parts of the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines were signed off by the relevant minister without the approval or agreement of the Attorney-General.
Anwar said this was among the findings carried out in a White Paper, which will be tabled in the coming Parliament session.
During the pandemic, two ministers were put in charge of Covid-19 pandemic-related matters as well as the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme..
