Sabah Dap Chief Mulls Suing Albert Over Mining Scandal Claim

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Sabah DAP chief Phoong Jin Zhe is mulling legal action against controversial businessperson Albert Tei for linking him to the Sabah mining license scandal in a recent podcast show.
In a statement today, Phoong (above) said he felt "disgusted and outraged" over the allegations made against him and labelled them as a "complete distortion of facts".
"I have immediately consulted my lawyers and am preparing to initiate legal action to firmly defend my reputation and integrity.
"His saying of what was discussed during our only conversation is a complete distortion of facts, entirely baseless, and seriously misleading. Such statements amount to an extremely malicious act of character assassination and constitute defamation through the fabrication of falsehoods.
"I must state unequivocally that I never initiated any meeting with him, nor did I ever make remarks such as, ‘Who doesn’t love money?’ or anything of that nature," Phoong said.
Businessperson Albert TeiThe China Press reported Tei as saying in the podcast that he was invited to meet Phoong by the latter's political secretary Chan Long Wei, purportedly to enquire about the mining scandal situation.
Tei claimed that Phoong had met him privately to discuss the mining licence issue and accused him of not reporting it to the MACC, despite being aware that the matter involved corruption.
“When Phoong had just assumed office as a state minister, he knew about the allocations. (Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor) would give each minister or party representative the relevant mining licences, and he knew this, so he called me to meet him and asked about these allocations.
“I swear to God, he said to me, ‘Who doesn’t want money?’ If he didn’t say that, he can sue me.
“I then asked around and found out that Hajiji refused to give licences to DAP because he didn’t want the party to know the full process or how the system worked. He feared DAP might expose it. I knew Hajiji hadn’t given DAP any licences, so I stopped contacting him," Tei reportedly said.
Tei, however, concurred that he did not give Phoong money as he did with several other lawmakers.
‘Tei tried to persuade for a concession company’
Phoong - who is a former Sabah industrial development minister - said he only had one meeting with Tei on March 22, 2023, and stressed that it was not pre-arranged, but one that Tei himself insisted on having.
He added that he also did not know Tei personally.
Phoong also alleged that Tei had attempted to persuade him to approve the formation of a concession company to manage Sabah’s scrap metal exports during their meeting.
"After carefully verifying the timeline of that day and reviewing my message records with my political secretary, Chan, the facts are clear - Tei insisted on seeing me despite having no prior appointment in my schedule, stating that even a brief meeting would do.
"During the meeting, in addition to raising matters related to mining exploration, Tei also attempted to persuade us to approve the establishment of a concessionary company to exclusively manage Sabah’s scrap metal exports," Phoong claimed.
He added that after the meeting, however, it was unanimously agreed that Tei's proposals could not be accepted, and there was no follow-up from then on.
"The truth is, as Tei himself has clearly stated, I have never taken any money from him. Neither I nor DAP has ever participated in any process related to Sabah mining matters, nor did we ever agree to the establishment of any company intended to monopolise Sabah's scrap metal exports.
"As he has raised, including commentary on the reasons for my electoral defeat, I have already fully accepted the voters’ verdict in the Sabah election.
“I reiterate my commitment to reflect humbly, return to the grassroots, remain grounded, and work steadily, step by step, to regain the trust of the people," Phoong added. - Mkini

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