Sabah Umno Urges Macc To Take Action Against Kitingan

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Sabah Umno has urged the MACC to take action against Sabah Deputy Chief Minister I Jeffrey Kitingan, who allegedly admitted to receiving political donations without officially declaring them.
The party’s Sabah war room secretariat leader, Abdul Aziz Julkarnain, described the exposé as “tarnishing the principles of transparency and integrity” in the state administration.
“What is more shocking is that this admission came from a leader who has long claimed to champion the sovereignty of Sabahans through his slogan, ‘Sabah for Sabahans’.
“But that slogan is now losing its meaning, as several leaders who have previously championed the phrase, ‘our home, we protect it’, (rumah kita, kita jaga), have also been implicated in dubious dealings,” he said in a press statement today.
Yesterday, businessperson Albert Tei revealed a video recording of his conversation with Kitingan, alleging that the president of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) had received the largest amount of payments in the Sabah mining scandal.
ADSTei also told Malaysiakini that the amount allegedly given to Kitingan was actually RM1.78 million - higher than the RM1.6 million figure mentioned in the recording.
Earlier today, Kitingan, who is also the Keningau MP, denied the accusations.
He insisted that he “genuinely did not remember” talking to Tei about a sum of money, as shown in the video clip.
He explained that the conversation appeared to be about a political donation which took place “years ago, before the election” and stressed that it had nothing to do with the recent mining scandal, which had implicated several Sabah state assemblypersons.
The veteran politician also insisted that the Star leadership had never applied for a mining licence, neither personally nor in the party’s name, stressing he was a “conservationist”.
‘Funds can be considered bribery’
Unimpressed with Kitingan’s statement, Aziz said accepting funds without officially declaring them could be deemed a legal violation, especially under Section 16(a)(b) of the MACC 2009 (Act 694).
He explained that the provision clearly states how it is a legal offence for public servants to solicit or accept bribes as inducement or rewards for official action.
“Without legal documentation and a transparent declaration process, accepting such funds can be considered bribery, which demands an immediate investigation.
“The people of Sabah have the right to know the truth. Therefore, we urge MACC to conduct a thorough probe into the source of the funds, the identity of the donors, and any connections related to the state government’s approvals or decisions.
“If it is proven that there are elements of an exchange of interests, then legal action must be taken without compromise, regardless of the person’s position as a minister, elected representative, or anyone else in the government,” he added. - Mkini

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