A Warisan assemblyperson has accused Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor of trying to silence opposition voices and warned that the whistleblower in the state’s corruption scandal may have more damning evidence yet to be revealed.
“Hajiji (above) is treating opposition assemblypersons as fools,” said Alias Sani, voicing his frustration after his question about the graft allegations engulfing the state government was rejected during ongoing the legislative assembly session.
“The act of blocking such a question is very concerning as it touches on the integrity of the government and the public's confidence in the state administration.
“Questions involving integrity and public interest should be given space to be answered openly in this honourable assembly,” he added in a statement today.
The Sekong assemblyperson further claimed that rejecting his question had “tarnished and abused” the sanctity of the House.
Alias explained that he had submitted the question for debate because of the whistleblower’s claim - via lawyer Shafee Abdullah on Feb 5 - that more videos and screenshots of WhatsApp conversations exist.
“Therefore, the people of Sabah urge the chief minister to provide a detailed explanation during the ongoing assembly session regarding who else among the GRS (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah) assemblypersons is involved in the corruption scandal,” he added.
“So far, including the (state assembly) speaker (Kadzim Yahya), a total of nine YBs have been revealed to be involved in the biggest corruption scandal in Sabah’s history. We do not know how many more are involved but have not yet been exposed.
“The people of Sabah are extremely worried that another corruption video might suddenly go viral again. The situation is deeply troubling for the people of Sabah. Due to this corruption scandal, the people of Sabah have lost confidence and trust in the GRS government,” he said.
The whistleblower, a businessperson, alleged that he paid bribes in exchange for mineral exploration licences. However, he himself is under scrutiny, accused of being part of a cartel attempting to monopolise mining licences in the state.
Indonesian company involved?
Alias also demanded that Hajiji clarify whether he had granted preliminary approvals for coal mineral exploration to an Indonesian “billionaire” company.
“If Hajiji had indeed granted the initial approvals, it means that the contents of the viral report are true. The authorities must conduct an immediate investigation, and appropriate legal action must be taken against Hajiji and all those involved.
“These very crucial issues must be clearly addressed by Hajiji in the assembly session. The people of Sabah are waiting for his answers.
“I would like to emphasise that all mineral resources in Sabah do not belong to Hajiji and his cronies. The wealth of Sabah’s minerals is the rightful property of all the people of Sabah,” he added. - Mkini
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