Blackmail And Bribe Hajiji Refused To Succumb Says Report

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The whistleblower behind the alleged Sabah corruption scandal had purportedly blackmailed Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, according to Free Malaysia Today.
Quoting a source close to the matter, the report also alleged that the businessperson offered a bribe to the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) leader.
“He repeatedly stated that if the (Sabah Mineral Management) board did not approve the mining exploration licences for his companies, he would issue a press release to bring the entire government down,” added the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The source claimed that if the licences were approved, he would not “destroy the government” but would give the state administration his full backing.
“Despite the threats, Hajiji stood his ground. He also did not budge despite the businessperson offering him money,” the source added.
According to the source, the videos implicating several assemblypersons were released less than two months later.
Damaging videos
The whistleblower claimed that the videos, which he recorded using a camera pen, contained discussions with the politicians about alleged bribes given in return for their support with regard to the mineral exploration licences.
It was also mentioned in the videos, which featured different assemblypersons, including state ministers, that Hajiji (above) had purportedly allocated the licences as “gifts” to those who supported him during the 2023 political crisis in the state.
The videos also suggested that the chief minister was purportedly aware of the alleged kickbacks his assemblypersons received.
In the clip featuring Deputy Chief Minister II Shahelmey Yahya, when asked if he had “declared his portion to the chief minister, replied: “We say… ‘Others have asked, I have not asked, I have not received’... It’s like that. So he (chief minister) signs, and says ‘remember, you check, if this is still there’.
Deputy Chief Minister II Shahelmey Yahya“Meaning he knows, this is your portion, that is your portion,” he added.
In the same video, Shahelmey was told that he was given “RM400,000” in cash.
Similarly, in another clip featuring Sindumin assemblyperson Yusof Yacob, the latter was asked a similar question and replied that the chief minister purportedly “knows” that he “got something in return”.
Yusof had also acknowledged that he purportedly received a “gift” from the chief minister for supporting him.
Sindumin assemblyperson Yusof YacobThe assemblyperson was accused of allegedly receiving RM500,000 in bribes, which he promised to return in installments following the cancellation of the licence.
“Yes, how can I return it (in a single payment), you gave me in instalments as well. RM200,000, RM200,000 and RM150,000,” he said.
In the video featuring Kemabong assemblyperson Rubin Balang, the veteran politician said he had asked for “two” from the chief minister but was granted “one”.
Purportedly referring to when Hajiji became chief minister, he said: “When Hajiji (became chief minister), we asked him to sign. I asked for two.
“It has been a long time that we (have been waiting) to claim this ‘barang’ (coal mining licence). So he gave (me) one. He told me one is enough, I told him okay, that is enough. (I am) grateful that he gave,” he added.
The whistleblower had said that he did not offer a bribe to Rubin and that the video centred around negotiations of using a firm belonging to the politician’s children to obtain an exploration licence.
However, the discussion appeared to hit a brick wall when the assemblyperson described the RM3 million offer as a “waste of his time”.
READ MORE: 'Money talks': Whistleblower releases full videos on Sabah scandal
Yesterday, Warisan information chief Mohd Azis Jamman said that the cancellation of the exploration licences does not absolve the crime of corruption.
Hajiji has claimed that the videos, which are now the subject of a MACC investigation, were aimed at destabilising his government. - Mkini

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