Sabah whistleblower to be charged, lawyer shocked

Summary

• The lawyer to the whistleblower in the ongoing Sabah corruption scandal reveals that his client will be charged on June 30.

• Mahajoth Singh says he was shocked and disappointed by the development, as the MACC would not be investigating the scandal had his client not blown the whistle.

• Mahajoth adds that the MACC told him he would be made a witness, but backtracked after he asked for a proper notice to be served against him.

The whistleblower who exposed the Sabah corruption scandal is set to be charged on June 30, a move his lawyer described as both “shocking and disappointing”.

“At this juncture, I must make clear that without my client, the entire Sabah corruption scandal would not have even been investigated by MACC.

“My client’s disclosures, at serious personal risk, have greatly benefited the public interest.

“It is shocking and disappointing that my client is to be ‘rewarded’ with being charged with a criminal offence,” Mahajoth Singh said in a statement this evening.

Mahajoth (above, right) said that when he and his client arrived at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya this afternoon, they were informed that “instructions from above” had been received to charge his client instead.

The lawyer said his client remains steadfast despite MACC’s move to prosecute him, instead of providing him protection as a whistleblower in a matter of paramount public interest.

The whistleblower, a 36-year-old businessperson identified as Albert, was arrested upon arriving at the MACC office and later released on RM10,000 bail.

Mahajoth said an MACC officer had also informed him that he would be made a witness in the case.

“I was told I would be made a witness, despite merely being a lawyer carrying out his duties. I then requested that a proper notice be served on me - otherwise, it would be completely unlawful and amount to a clear act of intimidation.

“Eventually, I was informed that I would not, after all, be made a witness,” he added.

Three to be charged

Earlier today, Malaysiakini reported that MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said two Sabah assemblypersons and a civilian would be charged in connection with the scandal.

The whistleblower, who was questioned by the MACC for over nine hours yesterday, had also lodged a report against Arifin Arif, the son-in-law of Sabah governor Musa Aman.

According to Mahajoth, the report was related to his client’s allegation that the Membakut assemblyperson had offered a settlement.

The whistleblower had submitted a trove of videos, documents, and WhatsApp message screenshots to the MACC, allegedly implicating several assemblypersons in a mining scandal.

The businessperson claimed he had paid bribes to the assemblypersons in exchange for mineral exploration licences.

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