Warisan deputy president Darell Leiking has questioned whether a new "R" has been added to the "3R" of sensitive issues - race, religion, and royalty.
The Moyog assemblyperson suggested that the new "R" stands for "rasuah", which is the Malay word for corruption.
“In short, race, religion, royalty and rasuah?” he asked in a Facebook post when commenting on the legal letter from Sabah Mineral Management (SMM) to Malaysiakini.
“To those who are sensitive, please don't get angry because this is just a question.
“And coincidentally, if there are any restrictions on discussions? It so happens that the ‘sekatan’ (curb) ‘ngaam-ngaam’ (coincides with a) hot issue related to ‘rasuah’ (R)...,” he added.
A law firm representing the state-owned SMM warned Malaysiakini of contempt proceedings over the news portal’s article yesterday regarding the latest twist in the corruption scandal in the state.
The firm claimed it has obtained an injunction from the Kota Kinabalu High Court in relation to the SMM’s lawsuit against its ex-CEO Jontih Enggihon and an external third party Tei Jiann Chieng.
“We note with concern that the article contains information and references to the process of licensing for mining, which is the subject of the ongoing legal proceedings and constitutes a breach of the said injunction.
“Under Malaysian law, including the principles of contempt of court, any third party with actual knowledge of an injunction order who knowingly assists or facilitates a breach of such an order may be liable for contempt,” the firm Chin Lau Wong & Foo said in a letter to Malaysiakini last night.
Attempt to silence media
In a separate statement, Warisan Youth chief Terence Au criticised SMM's warning against Malaysiakini, which he regarded as an attempt to silence a news outlet from reporting a matter of public interest.
He also questioned if the move was an abuse of the justice process and called for MACC to launch an investigation.
"Observers have opined that this could be an abuse of the judiciary process by SMM and the state government to hinder investigation and exposure (of alleged wrongdoings).
"Allegations that concern abuse of power and corruption are serious matters that require transparency, not threat of legal action.
"MACC has to investigate whether this legal warning is another abuse of process aimed at covering up wrongdoings,” he said.
He added that the judiciary must remain a defender of justice and not be abused as a tool to silence the media.
Earlier, Au had also called on the graftbusters to act immediately after the whistleblower in the Sabah corruption scandal revealed new allegations against one of the assemblypersons involved.
Sabah corruption scandal
The report yesterday was about a claim by the whistleblower in the Sabah corruption scandal that he had received an offer to reinstate his company’s mining exploration licences in exchange for retracting his corruption allegations against several ruling assemblypersons.
The latest allegation comes in the wake of MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki announcing on Jan 25 that the commission has completed its probe into the scandal.
Previously, Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor denied any wrongdoing on the part of his administration, saying the corruption allegations were an attempt to tarnish his and the state government’s reputation ahead of the state polls. - Mkini
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