Businessperson Albert Tei, who exposed the Sabah mining scandal, insists he is no hero and has challenged Anwar Ibrahim on whether the prime minister can claim the title either.
“I am not a hero. But are you?” he asked in a statement.
He emphasised that exposing the scandal was never about seeking praise, but a matter of desperation.
“I was pushed into a corner. I had no choice. I was warned against going to the MACC with the evidence, so I turned to the media instead,” he said.
Tei’s remarks came in response to Anwar’s recent comments expressing concern over the trend of glorifying bribe givers. While the prime minister did not mention names or refer to the Sabah scandal, Tei is convinced he was the target.
He also questioned Anwar for sharing the stage with politicians implicated in the scandal, even treating them as allies.
“You said the case is not closed. Yet you sat on the same stage with them and even praised them. Are bribe takers nobler than bribe givers?” he asked, pointing to Anwar’s campaign trail appearances alongside Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) leaders implicated in the scandal.
PM questioned on scandal response
Tei further reiterated his allegation that the prime minister was using the scandal to advance his political agenda in Sabah and accused Putrajaya of shielding the implicated politicians.
“How does Anwar explain that I provided the same evidence against all the politicians involved, yet only two were charged while many remain free?” he asked.
On another note, Tei drew a clear distinction between himself and Anwar.
“I am just a businessperson who operated within the entrenched corrupt system - what (former PKR deputy president) Rafizi Ramli described as ‘doing business in Malaysia’. It is not something that I am proud of.
“But I did not spend the last 27 years travelling across Malaysia or abroad preaching reforms and fighting corruption,” he added.
In his podcast last week, Rafizi, when asked about Tei being called a “hero” and “whistleblower”, said he disagreed with those labels but noted that such corrupt practices are common in Malaysian business.
Tei fears reprisal after exposing scandal
Meanwhile, Tei expressed concern that something undesirable might happen to him or his family following his latest allegations.
“I am deeply concerned that drugs might suddenly be found in my car, or that I could be arrested and charged in court again for other things,” he added.
Tei has been a thorn in the side of GRS and Pakatan Harapan since last November, after exposing a slew of videos, screenshots, and documents.
He claimed that the politicians accepted money from him in exchange for mineral exploration licences, which were later cancelled, prompting him to expose the scandal.
Just days before the Sabah election, he implicated Shamsul Iskandar Akin, claiming he spent more than RM620,000 on Anwar’s former senior political aide, after being assured that Shamsul could help recoup money allegedly given to the politicians in Sabah.
Soon after, two videos surfaced in which a woman, accused of being Shamsul’s proxy, is heard agreeing with Tei that the former political aide suggested recording the videos and that Anwar had purportedly given his blessings, while MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki was also aware.
Subsequently, Tei and Shamsul were arrested and later charged with giving and accepting bribes in relation to the mining scandal.
In June, Tei was charged alongside two other GRS state assemblypersons for similar offences.
Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor and GRS leaders have accused Tei of being part of a cartel seeking to monopolise mining in the state. The businessperson was also alleged to have resorted to fraudulent means to achieve his objective. - Mkini
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