Nga Tells Sabahans Shamsul Quit Over Support Letter Didn T Take Money

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SABAH POLLS | Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming went into damage control mode while on the campaign trail in Sabah last night, after a scandal rocked Putrajaya.
Addressing some 800 guests at a dinner hosted for DAP’s candidates across the larger Kota Kinabalu area, Nga assured them the party remains committed to fighting graft.
He said that the resignation of Shamsul Iskandar Akin as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's political secretary was not because of corruption; instead, he linked it to a support letter issue from last year.
"We will not compromise on anti-corruption. Zero tolerance, zero coverage. So today, the prime minister's senior political secretary, Shamsul, announced his resignation.
ADS"He did not corrupt anyone. He just sent a letter of support, saying that these contractors should get the hospital contract. He himself did not collect the money, but he should not have sent this letter of support.
"It interfered with the entire process of public bidding. Faced with such a situation, he was also forced to resign. This reflects that the prime minister, from top to bottom, even if he is his own people, he is still anti-corruption, right?" Nga (above) said during his speech.
He claimed anyone in the government implicated in any slight wrongdoing would be forced to resign.
Nga made his remark in Chinese, but when approached by the media afterwards, he refused to translate it.
Shamsul protecting govt?
The support letter, as described by Nga, was penned by Shamsul on May 6 last year and was leaked not long after, prompting a discussion in Parliament in which Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad acknowledged receiving the letter but denied acting on it.
The issue resurfaced last week in Parliament, with Anwar saying he had reprimanded Shamsul - albeit without naming him during the Dewan Rakyat session.
PM’s ex-aide Shamsul Iskandar AkinShamsul did not link his resignation to the support letter issue, and Anwar himself had said that the letter was not cause for dismissal.
Instead, the Malacca PKR chief said he resigned in anticipation of an attempt to attack him with an issue that could ruin the government’s image.
This is after it was revealed that businessperson Albert Tei was teaming up with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad to reveal the purported mastermind who had ordered Tei to record his incriminating videos against Sabah politicians in the mining licence scandal.
The resignation announcement was also made shortly after Malaysiakini contacted Shamsul yesterday afternoon for comment over allegations that he received money from Tei.
ADSTei revealed to Malaysiakini that he had spent RM629,000 on Shamsul after being purportedly assured that he could recoup the money channelled to politicians in Sabah.
Among other things, the businessperson claimed to have paid for renovations, appliances and furnishings for two properties – one in Bangsar and an official residence in Putrajaya.
He further claimed to have spent thousands of ringgit on premium cigars and even tailored several suits for the political aide, providing copies of the tailor’s receipt and body measurements.
Businessperson Albert TeiTei also furnished Malaysiakini with WhatsApp screenshots from December 2023 in which Shamsul purportedly requested money while travelling abroad.
Last night, around the time Nga was delivering his speech, a video was also released by a Mahathir-linked Facebook page, which showed a woman - said to be Shamsul's proxy - claiming that Anwar gave Shamsul the greenlight for Tei to secretly record his conversations with Sabah politicians discussing bribes.
RM15.5b collected
In his speech, Nga said the government has collected RM15.5 billion from corrupt officials.
This included RM170 million forfeited from former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and his former aides.
"In the future, we will take this money to Sabah, to serve the people of Sabah, right? In the past, there was no such situation.
“Of course, we have also implemented a lot of reforms," the DAP lawmaker said.
The dinner was hosted as part of the DAP’s campaign trail for four contenders in the Sabah polls - Kapayan incumbent Jannie Lasimbang; Sabah DAP chief Phoong Jin Zhe, who is contesting Likas; Luyang newcomer Chan Loong Wei; and Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin in Tanjung Aru.
Apart from Nga and the candidates, the event also featured DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, who came out of political retirement to once again stump for the party’s candidates, this time faced with a wave of local support for Sabah-based parties.
GRS leader Masidi ManjunSeparately, incumbent Sabah finance minister Masidi Manjun told Malaysiakini that the allegations that Anwar was complicit in the Sabah mining scandal videos are unsubstantiated.
"It’s an allegation that needs to be proven," he said briefly. - Mkini

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