GEORGE TOWN – Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has refuted an assertion by Yong Chee Kong that Penang DAP had written a letter bearing the latter’s signature in the ongoing Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine debacle.
In a statement today, Chow said the Sabahan’s claim as reported by Malay Mail Online is a “very serious and baseless allegation”.
“Penang DAP has never written a letter as alleged, and a report was lodged by Penang DAP at the Jalan Patani police station today.”
Yong made the headlines when it was revealed that he was the man behind an offer of two million Sinovac vaccine doses to the Penang government.
Yesterday, the portal reported him as saying: “I had reached out to the Sabah government via the chief minister, but when they didn’t respond, Penang approached me and said since Sabah has rejected the offer, why not offer it to the opposition?”
He said the letter bearing his signature was written by Penang DAP to be presented as a formal offer, and that it unfortunately carried his private address instead of a company’s.
Chow said the offer to Penang has erupted into a controversy.
“This has become an unfortunate development. It is not the state’s intention to have a war of words with any party, including the federal government.
“The state government’s focus is to obtain additional vaccine supplies immediately to ensure the vaccination rate is accelerated in order to protect lives and save the state’s economy.”
He said seeing that Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has called the donation a “scam”, Penang promises to give its cooperation in such matters in the future.
Chow said Penang on Wednesday decided to dip into state funds to procure additional vaccines, on top of the supply provided by Putrajaya.
To facilitate this, he said, a letter was sent to Khairy today seeking approval for the state to directly procure jabs from suppliers approved by the federal government, or directly from vaccine manufacturers.
“I hope the federal government will respond positively to Penang’s application. The state government reiterates its commitment to set aside political differences to ensure the success of the vaccination programme.”
On Wednesday, Khairy dismissed as bogus an offer by a private company to supply two million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Penang.
He confirmed that his ministry received a copy of the letter from Hong Kong-based Xintai Enterprise Development Ltd 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 the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency. 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.”
Yesterday, Yong told The Vibes that the offer to donate two million doses to Penang was a kind gesture on the part of his Hong Kong-based boss.
The 58-year-old, 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, 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.” – The Vibes, May 21, 2021
