Sabah Scandal Cancelling Licence Does Not Excuse Graft Says Warisan

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The cancellation of prospecting licences allegedly obtained through corrupt means does not absolve the crime of corruption, said Warisan information chief Mohd Azis Jamman.
Azis (above) was addressing a series of videos released by a whistleblower that purportedly show Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) discussing bribes in exchange for their support in his application for a prospecting licence for mineral resources in the state.
“GRS assemblypersons themselves admitted (in the video) that the approval of prospecting licences was a reward for their support of the chief minister. Whether the approval was revoked by the chief minister is not the issue in the videos being circulated.
“The core issue is whether money was accepted by the leaders who have been implicated in exchange for facilitating the approval,” Azis said in a statement today.
ADSSabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor had previously dismissed the whistleblower’s videos as “edited”, and that the allegations of wrongdoing against the assemblyperson in the videos are unfounded.
Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji NoorHe claimed the videos were made to destabilise his administration when the bid for a prospecting licence was unsuccessful.
The chief minister also highlighted that the application involved nearly a million acres of land, including totally protected areas, water catchment areas, and conservation areas.
“When the application was unsuccessful, several video clips have been disseminated in a bid to threaten the state government,” he said on Wednesday.
‘Licence approval was proof’
Meanwhile, Azis noted that the MACC had previously launched investigations against people named in the Pandora Papers even without complaints being lodged with the agency.
In addition, the ongoing proceedings against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak have shown that even returning the money that was transferred into his accounts - which was believed to have originated from the embezzlement of 1MDB funds - was not enough to escape legal action.
“The statement by the Sabah chief minister that no mining has been done is also irrelevant in this context. The main issue is GRS elected representatives have admitted receiving money to guarantee the licence will be approved […]
“The fact that the licence has been approved is proof that the elected representatives had a role in obtaining the approval. Even though the approval was rescinded, money had already changed hands.
“The leak of documents, letters, meeting minutes, and notes of the chief minister’s minutes show that the approval was given, leading to payment of an advance by the whistleblower.
“This fact alone is sufficient to launch an investigation,” he said.
Earlier today, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki reiterated his pledge for a fair and transparent investigation into the Sabah corruption scandal.
“As I said, the investigation is ongoing and we will investigate fairly and professionally,” he told Malaysiakini. - Mkini

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