Rep lodges police report, says his conversation in video was edited

A Sabah assemblyperson has lodged a police report denying the contents of a video which implicated him in alleged corruption.

According to Kota Kinabalu police chief Kasim Muda, a report was received from Tempasuk representative Arsad Bistari, who claimed his conversation in the recording was edited.

“I confirm that police have received a report denying a video that had gone viral via KiniTV social media (account).

“The report was received from Arsad on Nov 17 against the video, which is of one-minute and 27-second duration that he received through WhatsApp.

“The case has been classified under Section 500 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act,” Kasim said.

Section 500 stipulates punishment for offences related to defamation, while Section 233 covers offences of using network facilities to transmit communication deemed to be offensive or could cause annoyance to another person.

Kasim said the police have recorded a statement from Arsad and are awaiting a report from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) before proceeding with further action.

For the record, Malaysiakini has received a call from a Kota Kinabalu police officer seeking cooperation from its reporter.

“He said his voice (conversation) was edited,” the police officer said when asked to elaborate on Arsad’s denial.

Arsad was one of the Sabah state assembly members who have been implicated in a series of Malaysiakini exposés on alleged corruption involving a mineral project in the Borneo state.

The series included several videos shared by a whistleblower which showed politicians purportedly discussing hundreds of thousands in bribes given to them for supporting a project.

In one of the recordings shared by the whistleblower and published by Malaysiakini, Arsad was heard complaining about a lucrative project being blocked by someone, who was believed to be Chief Minister Hajiji Noor.

The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) representative has since claimed that his conversation with the whistleblower had been maliciously edited.

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