Sabah scandal: MACC quizzes businessperson's partner, staff

Summary

• MACC questions the Sabah whistleblower's business partner and two staff for more than five hours over the corruption scandal.

• The two staff are an operations manager and accounts manager.

The MACC has recorded statements from three additional individuals in connection with the Sabah corruption scandal.

Among them are the whistleblower’s business partner and two staff members—one serving as an operations manager and the other as an accounts manager.

The trio were questioned at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya from 9.30am to 3pm.

"Things went smoothly. We were asked many questions about the money transactions and the assemblypersons involved," the business partner, who requested anonymity, told Malaysiakini.

However, he declined to disclose further details.

On March 12 and 13, MACC questioned the whistleblower regarding the allegations for a total of more than 16 hours.

‘Ample evidence’

After his second session, which lasted 11 hours, his lawyer Mahajoth Singh said his client provided “ample evidence, resulting in an almost 50-page statement”.

“It is emphasised that any crime, particularly corruption by public servants, must be investigated with urgency and rigour. The ball is now in MACC’s court,” he added.

Since last November, the businessperson, identified as “Albert”, has revealed nine videos and a trove of WhatsApp messages which he claims are evidence of him bribing several assemblypersons in exchange for mineral exploration licences.

On March 10, he released the ninth video which implicated Sabah legislative assembly speaker Kadzim Yahya.

The next day, former MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya held a press conference to announce that the unedited videos would be submitted to MACC.

This was after the current chief commissioner Azam Baki claimed that the videos published by Malaysiakini were edited and therefore inadmissible as evidence.

Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor has described the videos as an attempt to undermine his administration and accused the businessperson of collaborating with those with vested interests.

It was also suggested that the businessperson is part of a cartel seeking to monopolise mining activities in the state.

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