GRS veep in whistleblower video rues tedious, costly mining approval

Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) vice-president Rubin Balang has revealed that the procedures to secure approval for mining operations in the state are tedious.

The Kemabong assemblyperson was commenting on his remarks in the video published by Malaysiakini from a whistleblower in which he complained about the problems during the time of former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman.

“My first child (not Tenom MP Riduan Balang) has a background and knowledge in mining, and I know that he had made an application for mining during Musa’s administration.

“At that time, there was neither a committee nor a (state) department established, as there were no experienced officers.

“But when officers with better experience from working in the federal government were deployed back to Sabah, the state government under the leadership set up the said department,” he said in a statement, according to Daily Express.

Rubin (above), who is also the chairperson of the Sabah Economic Development Corporation (Sedco), said despite this, the process remained costly and could drag on for several years.

After obtaining a a letter of intent from the Land and Surveys Department as mining involves natural resources, he said the applicant would have to pay the state government RM400,000, followed by further checks to determine if there are minerals in the area.

“The subsequent steps would then require further permissions from the Land and Surveys Department or the Forestry Department.

“For example, to inspect land spanning 2,000 acres (about 810ha), it is necessary to drill up to 100m using a special machine.

“However, that does not guarantee the volume and quality of the minerals being explored,” he said, adding that these processes were time-consuming and could rake up a bill running into millions of ringgit without assurance of success.

‘Desperate and saw no alternative’

Previously, the whistleblower told Malaysiakini that he had allegedly bribed assemblypersons to back his application because he was informed this was the practice.

“I solemnly swear that, in my state of distress, I had no choice but to give bribes to the eight YBs. The GLC’s CEO confirmed to me that licences would only be issued if a YB backed the applicant, while even companies with the highest scores would not be considered without such support.

“I swear that, at the time, I was desperate and saw no alternative, as I had already invested heavily in preparation for the mineral exploration project and had incurred debts with investors, facing no other way to obtain the licenses than to bribe these YBs,” he added in an open letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Malaysiakini has published a total of four videos from the whistleblower, which included one on Rubin.

However, the whistleblower said he did not offer a bribe to the assemblyperson but was seeking to use his children’s firm to obtain the “quota” for a licence.

The negotiation appeared to hit a brick wall when Rubin dismissed the RM3 million offer as a “waste of time”.

READ MORE: Sabah reps' alleged corruption videos: What has happened so far

The whistleblower had sought legal immunity in exchange for surrendering the videos to MACC and testifying against the assemblypersons.

The videos released by the whistleblower also contained discussions on how Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor purportedly gave “licences” as “gifts” to assemblypersons in exchange for their support during last year’s political crisis.

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