[UPDATED] Sabahan behind offer of Sinovac vaccines to Penang comes forward to police

KOTA KINABALU – Yong Chee Kong, the man behind the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine donation controversy, has come forward to police.

He arrived at the Kapayan station this morning to have his statement taken, and is expected to call a press conference later today.

“I will let you know after my statement is taken,” he said in a text message to The Vibes.

He finished giving his statement shortly after 2pm.

Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali was reported as saying an investigation has been launched into the purported donation to the Penang government.

Asked by The Vibes if Yong was being picked up by police, he said “no”.

Yong made the headlines when it was revealed that he was the man behind the Sinovac offer.

He told The Vibes that the offer to donate two million vaccine doses to Penang was a kind gesture on the part of his Hong Kong-based boss.

Yong, 58, who hails from Tawau, works as an investor and spends most of his time abroad, travelling to many countries, including Australia and Hong Kong, where his company, Xintai Enterprise Development Ltd, operates.

“I am a bit disappointed. My boss is very angry over the hype generated from this controversy. But there is nothing for me to fear as I am not lying.”

He said it all began at the end of last year, when the Sinovac jab had yet to be approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) for use in Malaysia.

The offer was first made to the Sabah government, which would have benefited the state’s 3.9 million-strong population, he said.

“At that time, my boss wanted to invest in Malaysia, so a letter was written to the Chief Minister’s Office, and its reply was that the Health Ministry had rejected the offer. This was because the Sinovac vaccine had not yet been approved.

“But we were told to write to the prime minister, which we did. The letter was passed to Khairy, and was rejected, too,” said Yong, adding that the letter to the chief minister was penned by his colleague.

After the rejections, Yong proposed that the firm approach the government of Penang, an opposition state. 

Prior to the controversy, he said, his boss had decided that it did not matter if the donation was accepted, as it could be invested in another country should there be a rejection.

However, things went south when the offer made the news.

In a video last night, National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin said: “I have also informed the Penang chief minister that the federal government will not block any valid Covid-19 vaccine donation or procurement.”

Earlier, he said Yong had informed his team that he did not have proof of placing an order with Sinovac.

“Serious allegation against my office here. My officer got in touch with a person claiming to be Yong Chee Kong. She asked him if he had proof of the donation so we could facilitate it (e.g. order with Sinovac). He said no. He said he has money in an account in Hong Kong.”

Khairy said his officer told Yong to either furnish proof of the donation or make an official donation to the Malaysian government.

“She then told him (Yong) that he could either show proof of the donation or make an official donation to the government of Malaysia, which we will pass to the Penang government. Not for him to pay to any company. Which he refused.

“As I said yesterday (Wednesday), I am happy to facilitate the donation if Mr Yong can prove he can procure the vaccines or make an official contribution to the government.”

On Wednesday, Khairy dismissed as bogus an offer by a private company to supply two million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Penang.

Responding to claims by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, he confirmed that his ministry received a copy of the letter from Hong Kong-based Xintai Enterprise managing director Yong, from Kota Kinabalu, to Chow on February 1.

“The letter requesting approval for the purchase of the Sinovac vaccine was investigated by the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force with the vaccine producers themselves.

“At the time, Sinovac was not yet approved by NPRA.

“Despite this, we investigated the contents of the letter with the producers Sinovac Biotech, and confirmed that no such transaction had taken place with the person or the company as contained in the letter.” – The Vibes, May 21, 2021