THE offer to donate two million doses of Sinovac vaccines to Penang is genuine and not “bogus” as described by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, said its donor Yong Chee Kong.

“It is a genuine offer by my boss whose company is based in Hong Kong,” he told The Star.

Xintai Enterprise Development Limited, a Hong Kong-based company had offered to donate two million doses of the vaccines to the Penang government.

Yong, who identified himself as the managing director of the company, told Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow in a letter dated February 1, that he will fork out the deposit of US$2 million (RM8.3 million) for the two million doses.

He claimed to be a citizen with an address in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and said he had liaised with Sinovac’s Head of International Sales Coco Chang for the purchase.

“I first wrote to the Sabah government earlier this year but they turned it down and told me that Sinovac was yet to be approved (at that time) by the government.

“I then offered to the opposition Penang government to see if they were keen. And they were, and the letter was drafted,” he said.

Yong added that the letter to Chow was written on behalf of his Hong Kong employer and that the offer for the vaccine still stands.

Since the matter has been politicised, Yong said he is now seeking legal advice.

“The offer still stands. It has been politicised. Now I have to clear my name. I am consulting my lawyer,” he said.

Yesterday, Khairy, the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, said he had investigated the offer by Yong and found that it was a scam and a bogus offer.

Khairy said based on checks with Sinovac, no order was placed by the company nor individuals involved. A check on company records also showed that the company did not exist, he said.

He said he had received a similar offer from the same individual on February 9 for the Sabah government. – May 20, 2021.