KUALA LUMPUR – The private company that allegedly wanted to donate two million doses of Sinovac vaccine to Penang does not exists.
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation cum the Coordinating Minister of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK), Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar revealed that it was merely a scam and he was shocked on how a Chief Minister could accept it without checking the offer in the first palce.
He also expressed his disappointment on the accusations thrown against him and the Federal Government by the Chief Minister of Penang Chow Kon Yeow and former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on PICK.
“Right after the Chief Minister informed about the readiness of the company that offered two million doses of the vaccine for the state through a letter and the payment will be fully-born by the company to Sinovac, I have requested for my team to investigate on the offer and allegation, as well as the details of the company.
“And here, I would like to announce that there was no evident or document, nor application received by any representative from that company about the offer to donate two million vaccine supplies.
“Furthermore, the woman named, Koko Cheng also emphasized that she has never managed the Sinovac vaccine in the Asia market and denied that she has been contacted about the vaccine donation as claimed by company and state government.
“My team and I have made a company search on that company, according to the spelling of the company’s name in the application letter and it is shocking that the company does not exists.
“During the news conference held yesterday by the Chief Minister (Kon Yeow) and Guan Eng who slammed me, my staff receive the similar letter from the same individual, wanting to contribute the vaccine to Sabah,” he said.
Khairy said, his staff also informed him about the letter from that company and individual received on 9 February and after checking with Sinovac, they found that the offer was non-existent.
In short, the Member of Parliament of Rembau said that the allegations made by Guan Eng and Kon Yeow on the donation of vaccine have been proven untrue.
That includes, the allegation that the company and its representative named Yong Chee Kong from Lorong Kenawai, 5, Taman Sinar Baru, Jalan Damat, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah also does not exists.
With the revelation, Khairy questioned the Penang government for using a scam to accuse the Federal Government for trying to stop the state from receiving two million doses of vaccine from that company.
“If anyone wishes to help Malaysia by contributing vaccines to the state government, I welcome the initiative but it must be made through the channels provided by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) as it is a controlled item.
“Vaccine is not a t-shirt you can by from Shopee, the letter is fake and the company and individual also do not exist,” he emphasized.
Khairy has informed the matter to Guan Eng and Kon Yeow so that they do not politicise the national immunisation programme.
“If the state government wishes to prove that the vaccine offer by the individual is valid, I am ready to grant immediate approval for them to bring in the vaccine but please do not politicise the issue. I do not want to politicise this issue,” he said.
According to him, the issue raised by the two opposition leaders is very serious as the government is always working on ensuring a speedy vaccination programme for Malaysians. At the same time, he also verified that the supply reserved is sufficient for the programme.
He said, the offer letter by the private company used by the Chief Minister of Penang dated 1 February was written by Yong Chee Kong from Sabah.
“In that letter, the individual introduced himself as a Malaysian and the Managing Director of Xintai Development Enterprise Limited based in Hong Kong. He wanted to contribute the Sinovac vaccine for the people in Penang.
“The individual alleged that he will be paying the cost directly to Sinovac Biotech Ltd for two million doses of Sinovac vaccine and he claimed that he has contacted Sinovac through its international sales officer, Miss Coco Chang and the ministry can contact the relevant officer for further information.
“He also mentioned that he would pay a deposit of USD 2 million if Penang agrees and is interested on the vaccine before the Chinese New Year and has agreed that the full payment and transactions will be made through his personal HSBC account in Hong Kong,” he said.
To further avoid scams, the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) will lodge a police report to identify the individual behind that scam.
“We want to know the identity of that individual as he has confused the Chief Minister of Penang to the extend that leader used this letter and accused the Federal Government and I. That is a very serious accusation and I strongly deny it,” he said.
Besides that, according to him, yesterday, the Sekhar Foundation has also stated its readiness in offering 200,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine and after investigation with Pharmaniaga, there is no evidence of transaction or purchase and that has been proven fake as well. –MalaysiaGazette
