Businessperson now says colleague penned vaccine donation letter, not Penang DAP

 

After alleging that Penang DAP penned a formal letter on behalf of him to the state government pledging to donate two million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, businessperson Yong Chee Kong clarified that the letter was written by a staff member from his company.

He was quoted as saying by Nanyang Siang Pau that he found out his company staff had submitted the letter to the state government.

Yong (above) apologised to the state government for the misunderstanding.

He hopes his public apology made via the news report will put the matter to rest.

Yong also said there is no need for him to hold a press conference to clarify the issue as neither he nor his company wants to politicise or aggravate the issue.

“If we get the approval letter (from the government), we are still willing to donate the vaccines to the people of Penang. Even if it is not approved, my boss will donate other resources to help the people,” he said.

On May 20, Yong told the media that the letter bearing his signature was written by the Penang DAP to be presented as a formal offer but it unfortunately carried his private address and not that of a company.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow denied the letter was penned by Penang DAP and his office had lodged a police report on the matter.

The police are probing the matter under Section 420 and Section 511 of the Penal Code for attempted fraud.

Yong, who is currently in Sabah, said he is cooperating with the police investigation and the Penang police contacted him via phone call.

Yong is a Malaysian who works for Xintai Enterprise Development Ltd - a company based in Hong Kong.

According to reports, he had initially offered to donate Sinovac vaccines to the Sabah government, which rejected his offer as the vaccine had not yet been approved by Malaysia.

Yong claimed that the Penang government then approached him about getting the vaccines.

Yong’s attempt to donate the vaccines came to light after the minister-in-charge of Covid-19 vaccinations, Khairy Jamaluddin, dismissed the offer as a scam.

This was due to an error in the spelling of the company’s name in a letter allegedly prepared by Penang DAP on Yong’s behalf.

According to a report by The Malay Mail, Yong said there was no link to the firm as he was acting in his personal capacity in donating the vaccines and had never wanted publicity.

However, he told The Star that the donation was a “genuine offer by my boss’ company based in Hong Kong.” - Mkini