KOTA KINABALU – Kanger International Bhd, an investment holding company, has offered to donate 5,000 doses of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine to help fight the pandemic in Sabah.
However, the Sabah government will only take up the offer from Kanger International, which is the Sinopharm vaccine distributor for Malaysia, once the vaccine gets the green light from the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) of the Health Ministry.
The company also contributed RM200,000 towards the cause today, which, according to Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Md Noor, will go a long way in fighting the pandemic in the state.
“Thank you so much for your contribution. I hope more will come forward and emulate Kanger’s kind gesture,” said Hajiji during the brief presentation ceremony at the state administrative centre today.
Hajiji received the contribution from Kanger International executive director Steven Kuah, while also present were state Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun and state health director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi.
Only three Covid-19 vaccines are currently being used in Malaysia, namely Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac, and AstraZeneca.
Meanwhile, Hajiji said that despite baseless allegations about the vaccines, he was happy to see many people turning up at vaccination centres to get their jabs.
“So far, Sabah has received 223,470 doses of the vaccines under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme from the federal government, and it is now in its second phase until August,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kuah told reporters that as a Malaysian-based company, it is important for it to help the people in need as part of their corporate social responsibility.
“Kanger International wants to bring the Sinopharm vaccine to Malaysia, and we hope our contribution will help Sabah to tackle this pandemic,” he said.
He said Kanger International is not looking for business opportunities in Sabah, but wants to foster a greater relationship with the state government and the people here instead. – Bernama, May 21, 2021
