Some 700k Acres Of Forest Reserve Given To Friends Family Under Ex Leader Shafie

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SABAH POLLS | Incumbent Chief Minister Shafie Apdal has claimed that the previous state leader had awarded more than half a million acres of forest reserve land under a Sabah foundation to "friends and family"
Speaking at a programme in Kunak, Shafie said prior to checking, out of one million acres of land, it was unclear who owned close to 700,000 acres (283,280ha) of it
"Upon checking, they belonged to his friend," he claimed
Referring to an alleged land map and a "Sabah Softwood Berhad" (SSB) document purportedly owned by Yayasan Sabah, Shafie mentioned the name of a former chief minister and the latter's brother who was a former federal minister
Malaysiakini has contacted the former ministers' officers for a response and is withholding their names until then. Shafie also claimed that SSB's subsidiary has an agreement related to crude palm oil amounting to 100,000 tonnes annually
"Whose company is this? The owner is his (former chief minister) son
"The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) has the information pertaining to the company
"If they want to sue me, they can do so. I have the document," he added
Referring to the map, he said a total of 11,000ha of the Kalabakan forest reserve land were allegedly given to a company owned by the son
Shafie claimed that the ownership of the land is for the duration of 100 years, from 2015 until 2115
"Another one (was given) close to 50,000ha from 2018 until 2118, just to name a few," he added
Shafie said Yayasan Sabah should have provided education scholarships for Sabahan children
However, he claimed that under the BN administration only a small amount was allocated for that purpose
When he took the helm of the state, Shafie said he provided more than RM100 million in scholarships for Sabahan children. - Mkini

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