Bung Cries Foul Over Bid To Drag Umno Into Corruption Settlement

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Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin decried an alleged bid to “settle” the corruption scandal in Sabah that would entail drawing Umno and other parties into the controversy.
ADSThis was after the whistleblower behind the scandal claimed he was offered a settlement to reinstate his company’s mineral exploration licences, in exchange for making a public statement declaring that the funds were a “political donation” and he had made similar “contributions” to Umno, Star, and PBS assemblypersons.
Bung (above) denounced the attempt as a bid to frame Umno’s assemblypersons.
“Such actions are not only immoral but utterly embarrassing because there are parties that would do anything - including writing a script – just to salvage their position.
“Therefore, I demand an explanation from the individual mentioned in the article, (Sabah Governor Musa Aman’s son-in-law) Mohd Arifin Mohd Arif, regarding the allegation that he was involved in the preparation of a script linking Umno’s assemblypersons to the issue,” he said, responding to Malaysiakini’s report published earlier today.
He also urged the MACC to bring those involved to justice.
Meanwhile, in a statement laden with sarcasm, Warisan deputy president Darell Leiking mocked the attempt to pass off the alleged bribes as political donations.
“Perhaps that is why investigators are also looking through the Dewan Pustaka (dictionary) to find the definition of ‘bribes’ and what ‘contributions’ are,” he said in a Facebook post.
Warisan deputy president Darell LeikingHe also urged those who are “sensitive” not to be angered by his statement.
“These are just questions following the statement and the lack of arrests following investigations. There are only investigations without anyone being remanded,” he said.
Previously, the whistleblower released a series of videos implicating several Sabah assemblypersons, including Arifin, in discussions about bribes in exchange for their support in the whistleblower’s company’s application for the prospecting licences. Those licences have since been revoked.
The whistleblower today claimed that Arifin had approached him with an offer to silence him and dismiss the affair as a misunderstanding.
Malaysiakini has contacted Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, Arifin, and the other assemblypersons mentioned for comment.
Hajiji previously denied any wrongdoing on the part of his administration, saying the corruption allegations were an attempt to tarnish his and the state government’s reputation ahead of the state polls.
On Jan 25, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the commission has wrapped up its investigation of the scandal and has submitted papers to the deputy public prosecutor for further action. - Mkini

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