KOTA KINABALU, May 20 — A man claiming to be the Sabah businessman offering to donate two million Sinovac vaccine doses to Penang insisted his offer was genuine and not “bogus” as described by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaludin yesterday.

Identifying himself as Yong Chee Kong from Hong Kong-based investment company Xintai Enterprise Development Limited, he told Malay Mail when contacted 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,” said Yong.

He also asserted that the offer was not initially meant for Penang but Sabah.

According to the address that was included in the letter offering the vaccines to Penang, Yong is a resident of the state.

“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 during a phone interview with Malay Mail.

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 yesterday 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.

Malay Mail visited the address, a home in an established upper-middle class suburban neighbourhood in the state capital, near a Chinese private school and about 10 minutes drive to the city centre.

The Taman Sinar Baru semi-detached unit appeared to be a family home, with several vehicles parked in front, but no doorbell.

No one came out when Malay Mail attempted to contact the occupants today.

However, during a previous visit by another publication, an elderly woman had emerged and provided Yong’s number when the reporters said they had been unable to contact him.

The publication shared this information with Malay Mail.

When Malay Mail contacted the number, the person identifying himself as Yong sounded surprised that he was being contacted about the matter.

Sounding as though he was chewing or eating when he answered, Yong asked how Malay Mail was able to obtain his number.

After this was explained, he told Malay Mail that his company name as included in the letter was inaccurate and that it should not have carried his personal address as the firm operated in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong.

When asked if his offer to donate the vaccines remained valid, Yong claimed to have spoken to an aide to Khairy yesterday 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.

Yesterday, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow demanded that Yong’s company publicly address Khairy’s allegations as they were serious in nature.

Chow previously said the company had offered to donate two million doses of Sinovac, the Covid-19 vaccine from China, back in February, adding that the state secretary had officially written to the Health Ministry secretary-general for approval to accept the donated vaccine.

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NOW EVERYONE WANTS COMMISSION.

NO MONEY NO TALK.

THE LIFE OF 2 MILLION IN THE HANDS OF KJ AND HIS CRONIES, WHO WANT TO MAKE MONEY FROM THE VACCINE.

THE COST OF VACCINE IS LESS THAN RM30 YET THE MALAY MINISTER WANT TO MARK IT UP TO RM375 A DOSE.

MALAYSIANS SHOULD SOLAT HAJAT THAT THE MALAY CROOKS ALL DIE OF COVID 19 OR BEST, LET ISRAEL TARGET THEM FOR US.

Gempar !!! Syarikat dituduh ‘Scammer’ oleh Khairy tampil tunjuk bukti

Sya dan rakan niaga berasa dukacita atas serangan peribadi yg dibuat oleh YB Menteri Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi, YB Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar. Surat kami kepada YAB Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang didedahkan secara terbuka walaupun jelas ia mengandungi maklumat peribadi / sulit sya termasuk alamat rumah dan nombor telefon peribadi.

Niat kami hanya untuk menyumbang bagi membolehkan nyawa diselamatkan disamping bagi membantu memulihkan ekonomi negara kesan pandemik ini. Kami tidak menyangka niat kami telah dipolitikkan dan kini dilabel sebagai *PENIPU*, satu label yang amat memalukan dan merosakkan nama baik saya. Niat baik saya dibalas dengan kenyataan berbentuk serangan peribadi.

Perkara ini berlaku begitu cepat dan kini saya dihujani begitu banyak panggilan telefon daripada pelbagai pihak sehingga ada wartawan yg mencari saya di alamat kediaman. Kami suda berhubung dengan setiusaha syarikat kami di Hong Kong bagi membolehkan penyediaan dokumentasi lengkap berkaitan syarikat bagi membuktikan syarikat kami wujud dan tulin. Kami juga akan mengambil langkah perlu bagi membuktikan syarikat berkemampuan dengan derma yang ditawarkan.

Untuk makluman, semasa kami berbincang dengan syarikat pengeluar vaksin Sinovac, kami telah berhubung melalui panggilan telefon, aplikasi wee chat dan juga email. Semua bukti ini akan kami senaraikan sebagai bukti perbincangan dengan pihak berkenaan. Semua dokumen ini akan kami kemukakan dalam masa terdekat bagi menangkis dan membuktikan niat kami ikhlas membantu rakyat Malaysia.

Apa yang berlaku amat mendukacitakan kami. Tidak sepatutnya perseteruan antara parti politik mengheret kami apatah lagi sehingga mengaibkan kami. Kami akan membuat sidang media bagi membersihkan nama kami dan menimbang untuk mengambil tindakan undang-undang terhadap tuduhan dan fitnah terhadap kami.

Sya dan rakan niaga berasa dukacita atas serangan peribadi yg dibuat oleh YB Menteri Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi, YB Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar. Surat kami kepada YAB Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang didedahkan secara terbuka walaupun jelas ia mengandungi maklumat peribadi / sulit sya termasuk alamat rumah dan nombor telefon peribadi.

Niat kami hanya untuk menyumbang bagi membolehkan nyawa diselamatkan disamping bagi membantu memulihkan ekonomi negara kesan pandemik ini. Kami tid...