Hajiji dismisses 'edited' videos, says graft allegations unfounded

Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor has again dismissed the corruption allegations against several assemblypersons in the state as attempts to destabilise the state government and tarnish its reputation.

This is despite a whistleblower releasing a slew of videos - this time in full - implicating the assemblypersons supposedly in discussions about bribes to facilitate an application for a mining exploration licence.

According to Hajiji, the videos had been maliciously edited and the allegations are unfounded.

“The allegation that several elected representatives have asked for bribes or had wrongdoing in this issue is baseless.

“The move to link these videos (with the assemblypersons) that have been maliciously edited and disseminated, including threats in the form of criminal intimidation, is a desperate attempt to tarnish the government’s reputation and affect Sabah’s political stability,” he said in a statement.

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

Hajiji said the Sabah government will not yield to what he describes as a bid to sow confusion and destabilise the government.

Mineral prospecting licence

He claimed that the exposé was perpetrated by certain quarters following an unsuccessful bid to apply for a mineral prospecting licence.

The licence would allow the licensee to explore economically viable mineral resources, which would pave the way for eligible companies to apply for a mining lease if the presence of such resources is confirmed.

“The wish to explain that the group’s application (for a prospecting licence) involves large swathes of land, nearly a million acres. Large portions of the area are protected areas, water catchment areas, and conservation areas.

“When the application is unsuccessful, several video clips have been disseminated in a bid to threaten the state government,” he said.

Hajiji assured that the state’s mineral resources are protected and carefully managed to protect the people’s future. No mining leases have been issued to date.

Previously, Hajiji had said the state government had issued 26 prospecting licences in the last two years, as per Section 6 of the Sabah Mining Ordinance 1960.

Of these, two were voluntarily surrendered, one was cancelled, and four had expired.

The videos

Previously, a whistleblower leaked four videos of the purported discussions, two of which were incomplete. The whistleblower claimed to be acting out of frustration with the application process.

Yesterday, seven full videos were released, which were purportedly filmed in January this year.

According to the whistleblower’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the whistleblower chose to release the videos after receiving a discouraging response from authorities regarding this bid to seek protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010.

“My client hopes this will highlight the gravity of the situation,” he told Malaysiakini yesterday.

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