To move on with its aim of getting more Penangites vaccinated against Covid-19, chief minister Chow Kon Yeow has written to minister Khairy Jamaluddin for permission to buy vaccines at its own cost, pledging to put aside political differences in the vaccination campaign.

“It is unfortunate that we are caught in a battle with Putrajaya and the man who wanted to donate two million Covid-19 vaccines. Our original aim was to get more Penangites to be vaccinated to battle the pandemic,” he said in a statement today.

Chow said it was very unfortunate that Penang’s intention had been misconstrued as waging war against Putrajaya when it revealed the health ministry’s outright rejection of the two-million dose offer.

He said he will give his full cooperation in any investigation related to the “donation” which was described as “bogus and a scam,” with Khairy claiming that the pledge was found to have come from a company that did not exist in Hong Kong.

Chow said he had taken cognisance of news reports that say otherwise and show that the man by the name of Yong Chee Kong and his company were in existence.

However, he refuted Yong’s claim that the letter to the Penang government pledging two million doses was actually written by the Penang DAP carrying his private address, adding that a police report on the matter was lodged today. Chow is Penang DAP chairman.

Separately, Chow said he has made an official request to Khairy to allow the state to buy vaccines for Penangites using its own funds. But he did not say how many vaccines his government plans to procure or their cost.

“I hope the federal government will respond positively to the relevant applications. We reiterate our commitment to set aside political differences during the national vaccination campaign,” he said.