GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has called on the “private company” to come forward and clear its name after its alleged Sinovac vaccine sponsorship to Penang was labelled as fake.

Describing the allegation as serious, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (pic) said the company and its director, who was named by National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin earlier, should come forward to refute the allegation. Khairy had claimed that the company’s offer to sponsor two million doses of the Sinovac vaccine to the Penang government was bogus.

Chow said the state government had taken prudent action after receiving the offer through a letter dated Feb 1.

“We asked the state health department for its views on this.

“The state health department then asked for the matter to be presented to the Health Ministry for further advice, ” he said in a statement yesterday.

Chow said state secretary Datuk Abdul Razak Jaafar then sent a letter to Putrajaya on Feb 15, seeking advice from the Health Ministry on the use of Covid-19 vaccines contributed by private companies.

He said a reply was received on March 12, with Health Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohd Shafiq Abdullah telling the state government not to proceed with the offer as the Federal Government had implemented the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

“In the letter, Mohd Shafiq did not mention anything about the status of the company.

“The Penang government, therefore, was unable to proceed with the matter as we could not submit an authorisation letter from Health Ministry to the said company that would enable it to proceed with negotiation with the vaccine manufacturer, ” he added.

Chow said the matter was brought up again on Tuesday after the Penang government had learnt that Selangor and Sarawak were permitted to secure their own Covid-19 vaccines.

“We have fulfilled our responsibilities in this issue as best as possible because we believe the vaccine offer would be able to help the people of Penang and protect them against the virus.

“The alleged company should come forward to explain and show related evidence to clear its name and image, ” he said.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/05/20/chow-calls-on-private-company-to-clear-the-air-over-offer