Two million vaccines initially offered to Sabah, claims donor - The Borneo Post
File photo shows vials of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine and syringes ready for use. — Bernama photo
KOTA KINABALU: The two million Sinovac vaccine doses offered to Penang were initially meant for Sabah, said a mysterious donor.
Yong Chee Kong told Malay Mail yesterday that he had initially reached out to the Sabah government about the vaccines offer but received no response.
“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.
Yong from Hong Kong-based investment company Xintai Enterprise Development Limited added that his offer was genuine and not “bogus” as described by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaludin on Wednesday.
He said that there was no link to the firm as he was acting in his personal capacity to donate the vaccines and never wanted the exposure.
“This is now a political issue. It’s not fair to me. We only wanted to donate the vaccines, not give cash,” he said.
According to the address that was included in the letter offering the vaccines to Penang, Yong is a resident of the state.
Yong also explained that the letter bearing his signature was written by the Penang DAP to be presented as a formal offer and that it unfortunately carried his private address and not that of a company.
“I didn’t write the letter, this is something my boss in HK wanted, it shouldn’t be my address,” he said.
Following the Penang government’s allegation that Putrajaya was blocking this “donation”, Khairy revealed on Wednesday that due diligence the government performed found no evidence that the donor had contacted either Sinovac in China or its local distributor here.
Khairy further alleged that there was no record of Yong or the company following checks in Hong Kong, after which the minister described the purported offer to be “bogus”.
During the dispute between Putrajaya and Penang, the purported offer letter was also leaked online, which included Yong’s address here.
When asked if his offer to donate the vaccines remained valid, Yong claimed to have spoken to an aide to Khairy on Wednesday about the matter.
He reiterated that he would only donate vaccines that he procured himself and was not offering funds to purchase vaccines.
“But they want me to pay to a company in KL. I don’t want that. I know the costs,” he said.
Yong also said he was consulting his lawyer about whether to call for a press conference and clarify matters following the minister’s revelation.
“I’m still thinking about it. Of course I want to clear my name,” he said.
Khairy yesterday twitted that his aide had gotten in touch with Yong and had asked for proof of donation which the latter failed to produce.
“He said no. He said he has money in an account in Hong Kong.
“She then told him he can 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, 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,” said Khairy who is the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.