Sabah scandal: Shafee urges CM, reps to lodge report on 'edited' clips

Summary

• Senior lawyer Shafee Abdullah responds to MACC describing the whistleblower’s videos as “edited”, urging the CM and assemblypersons implicated in the Sabah graft scandal to lodge police reports.

• He says this is a “golden chance” for the state government to clear its name.

Senior lawyer Shafee Abdullah has thrown down the gauntlet, urging Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor and the implicated assemblypersons to lodge a police report against his client over the videos linked to the state’s corruption scandal.

“The state government shouldn’t waste this golden chance to clear its name,” he told Malaysiakini.

Shafee (above) said his client is ready to be arrested and investigated for allegedly spreading “fake” videos that have tarnished the reputations of Hajiji and eight assemblypersons.

His challenge came after MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki dismissed the videos, saying they were “edited” and thus unusable as evidence.

“‘Edited’ is a broad term. Is MACC claiming these videos were manipulated? Or are they just referring to my client’s voice being altered for anonymity?” Shafee asked.

“If they were truly doctored, why wait? The police should launch an investigation immediately. Arrest him. I guarantee he will hand over all the evidence he has,” he added.

What about settlement offer?

The senior lawyer also questioned MACC about the status of its investigation into the alleged “settlement offer,” emphasising that both matters are interconnected.

“If the videos were edited, why was a settlement offered? MACC must clarify whether this, too, was a false allegation,” he added.

In December, the whistleblower, who claimed to have bribed the assemblypersons in exchange for mineral exploration licences, had challenged the chief minister and assemblypersons to sue him for defamation over the videos.

This was after Hajiji dismissed the videos as “edited” and described the corruption allegations as unfounded.

On Feb 6, the whistleblower, who is a businessperson, filed a police report against Membakut assemblyperson Arifin Arif, who was one of those implicated in the videos.

The report came less than 24 hours after Arifin filed a report in Kota Kinabalu against a Malaysiakini article which quoted the whistleblower accusing him of brokering a settlement.

Since November, Malaysiakini has published more than eight videos and a flood of WhatsApp screenshots related to the case.

Hajiji has dismissed the allegations as an attempt to tarnish his administration, suggesting that the whistleblower is collaborating with parties with vested interests.

On Feb 5, Shafee revealed that his client still has more than half a dozen videos in his possession and additional screenshots of WhatsApp messages.

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