Topic: Freedom of Information, Vaccine Procurement
Coverage by: Free Malaysia Today
Related news: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/06/04/waive-the-nda-tell-us-cost-of-vaccines-say-anti-graft-groups/
KUALA LUMPUR: Two anti-corruption NGOs insist that the government can notify the vaccine suppliers that it is waiving the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in the name of transparency and disclose the procurement cost of Covid-19 vaccines to the public.
They said the government is spending taxpayers’ money for the vaccines and Malaysians have the right to know the cost, which will answer the many questions being raised on social media.
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Muhammad Mohan noted that although there is an NDA between the government and vaccine producers, it should be waived.
“The government should ask the suppliers to be exempted from any breach of the non-disclosure clause in the name of transparency. This is vital as Malaysians are beginning to ask on social media if the government has something to hide,” he told FMT.
Science, technology and innovation minister Khairy Jamaluddin had previously said the government was bound by the NDA and thus was unable to divulge the cost.
Khairy said he had revealed the details including purchase price for Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Parliament.
PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh had said the committee was satisfied with the explanations from Khairy as well as health minister Dr Adham Baba and health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Meanwhile, Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) board member Azrul Khalib said the government needed to be accountable to the people, as it involved taxpayers’ money.
“In a democracy, you delegate responsibility to hold the government accountable to MPs and you expect them to protect your interest.
“In view of this, it is the right of people to know how their money is (being) spent and the duty of the government to be transparent in all dealings. This is a fundamental principle of a functioning democracy,” he told FMT.
Former finance minister Johari Abdul Ghani had also demanded that the government be transparent on how much the vaccines cost (per dose), and whether the government was buying through any “agent”.
