Alleged cartel applied to prospect 5pct of Sabah, report claims

A cartel that is central to the Sabah mining corruption scandal allegedly applied to prospect about five percent of Sabah.

Between 2022 and 2024, it reportedly applied for around 20 prospecting licences for the mining rights to almost one million acres, or a little more than 56,6787 football fields.

According to Free Malaysia Today, a source revealed that the first five prospecting licences, which were part of one batch, were granted due to a middleman.

This batch contained sites the size of 130,000 acres or 73.7 football fields, they said.

The source claimed that the licences were recommended to the Sabah Mineral Management Sdn Bhd (SMM) board for approval without any due diligence backing the applications.

“And at every (SMM) board meeting, more applications would be submitted by companies controlled by the businessperson for the right to mine in different areas,” they said.

An intermediary linked to the unnamed businessperson had pushed for the applications to be granted in bulk instead of being considered one-by-one, the report said.

This is in connection with a series of videos released by a whistleblower that purportedly show Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) discussing bribes in exchange for their support in his application for a prospecting licence for mineral resources in the state.

The corruption scandal surfaced last month, with former SMM CEO Jontih Enggihon accusing Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor of abusing his power as the SMM chairperson.

Hajiji dismissed the whistleblower’s videos as “edited”, and that the allegations of wrongdoing against the assemblyperson in the videos are unfounded.

He claimed the videos were made to destabilise his administration when the bid for a prospecting licence was unsuccessful.

Several Umno leaders have since called for his resignation, with Kinabatangan Umno Youth chief Mohd Naim Kurniawan Moktar backing Deputy Chief Minister I Jeffrey Kitingan as the interim chief minister.

However, Jeffrey, who is also the Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) president, slammed the suggestion, saying that nobody has been brought to court yet - unlike some Umno leaders.

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