Sabah DAP has started collecting signatures among 55,000 shareholders of Saham Amanah Sabah (SAS) to call on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step in and investigate a controversial compositive share swap involving a state-owned share investment company and three listed companies in 1997.

State DAP de facto leader Dr Hiew King Chew confirmed to malaysiakini today that the party had lodged a report with the State Police commercial crime unit as well as the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

The lodging of the report followed numerous local newspaper reports in recent days during which BN component parties Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader Chong Kah Kiat and Sabah Pprogressive Party (SAPP) chief Yong Teck Lee were finger-pointing each other for the losses suffered by thousands of SAS shareholders.

The shareholders include civil servants and the public as well as some successful businessmen, the DAP leader said.

"In the past one week, we have received more than 100 calls from SAS shareholders asking the party to take up the matter with the higher authorities," Hiew said.

Hence, the party has started a signature campaign among SAS shareholders to urge the prime minister to intervene and probe the matter "in line with his policy to promote a clean administration."

Shares collapse

The share deal involved the composite share swap between state-owned Warisan Harta Sdn Bhd exchanging its 32 million shares in listed Malaysian International Shipping Corporation (MISC) valued at RM182.4 million for three North Borneo Timber (NBT) shares valued at the time at RM32 per share and 4.79 million fast-food chain Sugar Bun shares held by Suniwang Sdn Bhd then valued at RM8.72 per share.

The RM50 million shortfall in the share transaction was paid for in cash.

Today, NBT share has been suspended at 19 sen and Sugar Bun share is about 50 sen.

According to Hiew, many shareholders had suffered financially after the shares plummeted.

The share transaction deal was completed in early 1996 when Yong Teck Lee was chief minister, who was also Warisan Harta Sabah chairperson.

Hiew claimed that Yong had, at a public ceremony, assured that SAS share would not drop below RM1 after the share swap exercise.

On this basis, financial institutions had granted loans said to be between RM300 million and RM400 million to SAS shareholders to buy the shares.

"Many shareholders have not only suffered losses but have also been adjudged bankrupt and many more are being sued for bankruptcy for failure to settle loans,' Hiew told malaysiakini .

Meanwhile, Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman told LDP and SAPP leaders to stop the public bickerings, saying the government would do its best to raise the value of SAS shares.

This was not the first time the SAS share issue was raised in public. It has been brought up before in private and public which, according to government services, reflected the dissatisfaction of certain quarters with such a deal being executed.

Chinese rivalry

The matter has been brought up again, reflecting what observers say is the continuing rivalry between the two Chinese-based parties - LDP and SAPP. Chong is one of two Sabah's deputy chief ministers (the other is PBS leader Joseph Pairin Kitingan).

All three were once founder leaders of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) which ruled Sabah for 10 years from 1984-1994. Because of a legal disqualification, Yong did not contest in recent elections and is therefore out of the cabinet.

The share issue was raised in public again on August 8 when Yong, officiating at a party function, said that Chong was the best person to explain what had happened to SAS shareholders.

Chong took exception to this, and in his reaction asked Yong to explain the rationale of the composite share swap involving Warisan Harta and the three listed companies, implying that the latter should acknowledge his responsibility for what had happened.

Subsequently, Yong wrote to Chong but the contents of the letter were not revealed by either party. Chong, who is one Sabah's two deputy chief ministers, said he would reply when he had the time to do so.

Meantime, presumably on the directive of the chief minister, SAS through its fund manager Saham Sabah Berhad, yesterday issued a statement to say the 'real culprit' for the share drop was 'share market conditions.'

Following the 1997 financial crisis, listed shares across much of Asia, including Malaysia, collapsed.