KUALA LUMPUR – Chong Zhemin (Kampar-PH) said he will refer himself to the parliamentary Privileges Committee, following conflicting statements he made regarding the faulty ventilators issue.
In a press conference today, Chong said he had submitted a motion to the Dewan Rakyat under Article 36 (12) of its Standing Order, as both he and Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong (Ayer Hitam-BN) had made contradictory remarks on the matter.
“The statements that Ayer Hitam (Wee) and I made are contradicting. So only one statement can be right.
“As Wee was in charge of transporting the ventilators, we gave him the benefit of the doubt and if he told the truth, it meant I imputed statements that misled the House,” he said today.
Chong also said that his decision to sumbit the motion did not violate any parliamentary rules as there was no provision that prevented MPs from referring themselves to the committee.
“For Ayer Hitam, I am willing to be referred to the Privileges Committee and I hope the speaker will approve it because in Standing Order stated no MP can refer themselves to the committee,” he said.
On November 20, Chong blamed former health minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba over the government’s purchase of faulty ventilators.
Chong noted that media reports had implicated Wee over the procurement of 104 units of the ventilators during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite him not being tasked with handling health matters.
Wee, however, insisted that he was not directly responsible for the procurement process.
Instead, Wee said he merely transported the ventilators, which were among the essential medical items needed during the time.
Wee said the National Security Council (NSC) and the Cabinet purchased a total of 800 ventilators from March 20 to 25, 2020.
“I didn’t help in purchasing the ventilators. I helped transport four assets: face masks, ventilators, ICU beds, and personal protective equipment (PPE),” he said.
Wee said that at the time, he had posted an update on his Facebook to inform the public that the ventilators had arrived safely, and not because he was responsible for their purchase.
“In the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reports, it’s not fair (for me) because the former secretary-general (of the NSC) made the decision to acquire the ventilators.
“It has nothing to do with Wee Ka Siong,” he said. – November 27, 2023