Sabah Ngo Wants Armizan Probed For Possibly Violating Constitution

---

A Sabah-based NGO has urged authorities to investigate if Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Armizan Mohd Ali breached the Constitution by previously holding a position in a state-subsidiary company while he was a federal minister.
Sabah Entitlement and Equity Now (Seen) president Duncan Cheng said that if probes determine that Armizan (above) violated constitutional stipulations, he should immediately step down from his ministerial and Papar MP posts.
“Based on Article 48(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution, a person is disqualified from being a member of either House of Parliament if he holds an office of profit,” Cheng highlighted in a statement today.
“We seek clarification from Armizan: under which article or circular is it permitted for a federal minister to hold a position as a board member in a company owned by the Sabah state government?
“The people of Sabah know that something is wrong in this matter. If (there is no wrong), please tell us if anyone other than Armizan from the Madani cabinet under the leadership of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim holds a position as a board member in a state-owned company,” Cheng added.
He was referring to how Armizan yesterday confirmed that he was involved in a May 16, 2023, meeting between state subsidiary Sabah Mineral Management Sdn Bhd (SMM) and an Indonesian firm.
The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) deputy secretary-general said his presence at the meeting, alongside SMM’s entire management team, was in his capacity as a then-board manager.
At that time, Armizan also held the position of minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak affairs and special duties).
Sabah Bersatu Youth chief Hisyam Hazaril Azman previously said it is “quite unusual” for an individual holding a ministerial position in the federal cabinet to also hold a position as an SMM board member.
He added that if Armizan were allowed to hold both positions simultaneously, it is not impossible for conflicts of interest to arise.
‘Cooperate with MACC’
Meanwhile, Warisan supreme council member Calvin Chong criticised Armizan for apparently deflecting attention from allegations linking the latter to the Sabah mining scandal, urging him to instead cooperate with the MACC.
ADS“If he (Armizan) has stated that he is not involved in corruption, then, if necessary, he should cooperate with the MACC’s investigation, not come to me and claim that he is innocent.
“There is also no need to use threatening words by questioning me about who the investigative journalist and Datuk Z are. If I have any responsibilities, I will certainly cooperate with the authorities for the investigation,” he said in a statement today.
Warisan supreme council member Calvin ChongChong said this in response to Armizan’s earlier call for him, Sabah Umno elections director Jeffery Nor Mohamed, and Warisan’s former Papar MP Ahmad Hassan to reveal the sources behind their accusations linking him to an alleged corruption scandal involving mineral exploration projects in Sabah.
Accusing the trio of acting as mouthpieces to spread slander against him, circulated via an anonymous message on “fake” social media accounts, Armizan dared them to reveal the source of the allegations.
On March 27, Chong told GRS to state its position on the corruption allegations faced by Armizan, asserting that politicians from the coalition cannot rely on the principle “innocent until proven guilty in court” as an excuse to remain silent or avoid responsibility. - Mkini

---