'Ventilator procurement was in 2020, I became Health Minister in August 2021' - KJ

SHAH ALAM - The ventilator procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic was carried out by the minister who held the post in 2020, said former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Khairy made this remark in response to the demands by many for him to address the failure of the device to function.

"On the ventilator procurement, many of these smarty pants are saying that I have to address it while the procurement has taken place in 2020.

"I became the Health Minister in August 2021. Even you cannot get the facts right. I don't even know why you're talking to me," he said during an episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast.

Khairy hosts the podcast together with former Umno Information Chief Shahril Hamdan.

Based on the Covid-19 Outbreak Management Report: Expired Vaccines, Unusable Ventilator Equipment, and Excessive Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by PAC, no contract was drafted between the Health Ministry (MoH) and PLSB with regards to ventilator procurement.

The Health Ministry advisor was also not consulted during the preparation process of the PLSB appointment letter.

Khairy pointed out that his justification was not meant to blame other ministers but instead to suggest people seek answers from the right person.

"I don't mean to throw some other minister under the bus (blame other ministers), but this is the fact. I don't toss anybody under the bus when it comes to vaccines.

"How do I take responsibility for the ventilators when I was not the Health Minister at the time? So if you want to talk about ventilators, you have to ask the person in charge, not me," he explained.