Businessperson Albert Tei had approached MACC but was warned against coming forward before he exposed the Sabah mining scandal to Malaysiakini, his lawyer Mahajoth Singh revealed.
“For the clearance of any doubt, my client had in fact first approached MACC at the end of October 2024. He attempted to make disclosures concerning the Sabah corruption scandal. He was, however, warned by MACC not to come forward, as otherwise he would be in trouble.
“No protection was offered. No action was taken,” he said in a statement.
Mahajoth (above) was responding to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Azalina Othman Said, who said whistleblowers who approach the media before enforcement agencies are not entitled to protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010.
Previously, former MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya also told a press conference that Tei received alleged threats from a “higher up” who discouraged him from directly engaging with the MACC.
Mahajoth said it was only after being dismissed by the MACC and receiving death threats that his client decided to go public.
“By then, he had already fulfilled the legal requirements for whistleblower protection under Section 7 of the Act.
“To suggest now that he is disqualified because of media involvement and premised on Section 11 of the Act (which says that if he is involved, he cannot be conferred with the protection) is both factually wrong and legally unsustainable,” he added.
Whistleblower protection
Mahajoth said the continued reliance on Section 11 of the Act to justify denying the businessperson protection is equally flawed.
“That section addresses ‘revocation’ of protection, not whether it is granted in the first place. My client was never accorded protection. So, again I ask, what exactly is being revoked?” he added.
Mahajoth also pointed out that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Nov 12 that a whistleblower “would not be guaranteed protection” if they were a bribe-giver.
“Can the law minister also now confirm if the prime minister gets to decide who receives whistleblower protection?” he added.
In the same vein, Mahajoth also questioned the status of the other assemblypersons implicated in the scandal apart from the two who have been charged.
“What is happening? Why have they not been charged? Why is the full weight of the state being directed only at the whistleblower?
“My client acted in good faith, in accordance with the law. He should have been protected, not prosecuted,” he added.
Since November last year, Tei has released a series of videos and documents allegedly implicating nine politicians, including the Sabah state legislative assembly speaker, whom he claimed accepted bribes in exchange for mining prospecting licences.
On July 30, Tei pleaded not guilty to corruption charges in Kota Kinabalu. Also claiming trial were state assemblypersons Andi Suryady Bandy (Tanjung Batu) and Yusof Yacob (Sindumin), who were charged with receiving bribes. - Mkini
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