Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) acting president Joachim Gunsalam has downplayed allegations of a video recording of him related to the mining scandal.
He said the recording was taken out of context and insisted that the wider controversy should be seen as an attempt by businessperson Albert Tei to dominate Sabah’s mining sector through a network of proxy firms.
“Yes, he has a video. But it was taken out of context,” said Gunsalam (above), who allegedly received RM600,000 from Tei in the mining licence corruption scandal.
He claimed that Tei was, in truth, applying for mining licences under multiple companies, approaching assemblypersons one by one for supporting letters.
“He (Tei) approached all the YBs, asking for support letters to apply for mining licences. Some said okay and gave supporting letters. But in fact, we never asked him. He gave it first,” Joachim said, clarifying that these were documents.
‘Tei had 19 front companies’
It was only when the matter reached the agency processing the applications that the full picture became clear.
Officials discovered Tei was tied to as many as 19 companies, believed to be front firms, Gunsalam explained.
He said the plan was rejected by the person-in-charge because it amounted to licence stacking and cartelisation, creating a hidden consortium that could corner Sabah’s mineral resources.
“Each assemblyperson didn’t know he was also going to see another one. They had no idea about each other. Only the person in charge could see the whole picture, because everything goes through one office.
“When it was discovered that one individual controlled the entire thing, the answer was clear: this cannot be allowed,” Gunsalam explained.
‘I did not ask money from you’
Gunsalam said Tei approached the assemblypersons in 2022, while the video of him was recorded in 2024, during the early stages of the so-called Kinabalu Move.
He also stressed that the conversation had been distorted.
“He asked, and I told him, look, if you want to donate money to the party, I used it for the election. I did not ask from you,” he said.
Gunsalam stressed that any contribution was a voluntary political donation to PBS, not a bribe.
Why no police report
Gunsalam said he had already given investigators his WhatsApp records and a full statement.
For him, lodging a separate police report would have been redundant and politically damaging.
“In fact, they didn’t even ask me. The first thing I said was, ‘Okay, I’ll give it to you’,” he said of his cooperation with the authorities.
“You’re going to lodge a police report? It’s actually dragging Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) down. What for? It doesn’t make sense.”
He expressed confidence that ongoing investigations would eventually reveal the truth.
Two of GRS’ assemblypersons are facing corruption charges linked to the controversy.
In the scandal, Tei allegedly sought support or made payments to several senior figures in GRS parties, including Jeffrey Kitingan (Star president) - allegedly RM1.78 million, Ellron Angin, Robert Tawik, Maximus Ongkili (former PBS president) - allegedly RM600,000, Jahid Jahim (PBS deputy president) - allegedly RM150,000, and Gunsalam (PBS acting president). - Mkini
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