PETALING JAYA: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is welcome to further probe Covid-19 vaccine procurement issues based on the White Paper to be tabled in the Parliament soon, says Wong Kah Woh.
In a statement issued on Thursday (Feb 16), Wong, who headed the 14th PAC, stated that it was not uncommon for other parties to conduct further investigation on issues presented by PAC.
"I was asked to comment on the recent statement by the Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on Feb 15 with regards to the White Paper on Covid-19 vaccine procurement by the Health Ministry.
"It is not uncommon for any party, including the government, audit agencies or authorities to conduct further investigations on matters presented in PAC reports in the Parliament.
"Such follow-up action is important to further establish the position of PAC as a vital check-and-balance institution.
"The 14th PAC had conducted proceedings on the issue of the Covid-19 vaccine procurement and its usage for Malaysians. We had presented the PAC report on Dec 1, 2021 and PAC reported on further action taken on March 24, 2022.
"The 15th PAC, which is due to be set up by Parliament, can decide if it wants to hold proceedings to further investigate the issue of the Covid-19 vaccine procurement, based on the White Paper on the matter which will be presented in Parliament," said the Taiping MP.
On Feb 15, Dr Noor Hisham, when asked to comment on the issue of the government further investigating the vaccine procurement process, stated that the ministry had presented everything on the matter to the 14th PAC.
"We have answered on this matter to the PAC. There were 512 pages which we passed to PAC and the then-PAC chairman (Wong) had made announcements on this.
"This is not for the Health Ministry to answer. Should we answer, it would be undermining the authority of the PAC," said Dr Noor Hisham.
On Feb 10, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said that a White Paper, following the decision of a Cabinet meeting on Jan 18, would be presented in Parliament to provide a comprehensive overview of the management of the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.
This was to address the findings of the Attorney General's Chambers and the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department, which had conducted investigations into the terms of the Covid-19 vaccine supply agreement which were signed and made during the emergency period.
