SAS SCANDAL SWEPT UNDER CARPET

YONG Teck Lee from SAPP is the right person to explain on the issue why Warisan Harta Sabah incurred a massive financial loss during a bad share swap deal one and a half decades ago when he was in power and holding the chair.

May be Yong can tell us more now. What is so difficult in telling the truth and the facts behind it? He should explain so as to clear his name - if he wanted to do so, and to name those who were behind the fiasco, and most of them were his ex-colleagues during that time anyway.

On the other hand, he may have chosen to be silent because the involvement was too big and involved too many important people.

DAP Sabah State Advisor Hiew King Cheu point out that Warisan Harta Sabah, the Sabah state government investment arm, was seriously hurt in the share swap of its very strong blue-chip counter, MISC, in exchange for the shares of North Borneo Timber Corporation (NBT), a trading company, and the shares of a fast-food company Sugarbun Corporation Bhd (now known as Borneo Oil).

The deal involved 32 million MISC shares – disposed off at RM5.70 per share valued at RM182.4 million in exchange for three million NBT shares transacted at RM32 apiece valued at RM96 million and 4.76 million Sugarbun shares traded at RM7.60 each valued at RM36.176 million.

The losses affected Warisan Harta Sabah, and it was estimated that Warisan Harta Sabah had registered unrealized losses exceeding RM200 million (the people’s money). This does not include profits derived from any bonus issue, rights issue of shares, price appreciation and dividends declared by MISC.

Saham Amanah Sabah (SAS) which was launched with RM500 million on a share value of RM1 and then got reduced to RM0.20 in a matter of a few days and caused a loss of more than RM400 million involving 55,000 investors.

Hiew said, the anger of the unit holders is still raging, and the deep suffering continued until today. Many people are still repaying their debts or being chased after by the banks many years after they had taken the loans to acquire the SAS shares.

Yong who led SAPP out of BN in 2008, claiming that the Sabah State Cabinet refused to publish a “white paper” to reveal the culprits behind the SAS issue and challenged the government to take action if he had committed any wrongdoing in regards to SAS.

An investigation should be carried out on the SAS affair. If anyone that had caused the massive loss to the 55,000 investors, then let those involved be answerable, morally and legally and that is the only way to solve the whole issue. Since Yong was sitting as the chairman of the share investment board for the company, he should reveal the truth, because he should know the detail then.

It is not strange that the BN government is refusing to produce a “white paper” on the issue. The findings of any investigation conducted on SAS by the authorities, including by the Securities Commission will be made public, so that the truth can come out. Musa Aman had appealed some time ago that the issue is not to be politicized, may be in fear that the matter may be blown out of proportion.

Lawyer Joseph Ambrose Lee whose name kept cropping up in the SAS debacle said “I support the idea to have a “white paper” because it will reveal the truth.” Lee seems to know something very sinister, by implying the white paper is too sensitive and dangerous for certain people. Dr. Yee Moh Chai, Yong’s archenemy, had previously said that Yong should not hide behind the curtain.

Is there really something very big to hide? The people of Sabah should continue and assertively push to get this “white paper “out to get the “real culprits” on the SAS unit price “land-slide” drop. The people of Sabah are waiting for that day to come so that the decades long suffering of the investors can be finally relieved and cleared, and this day shall come where the Pakatan Rakyat takes over the state government. (DAP Media)