Sabah Bersatu wants full disclosure over mining, private jet scandals

Summary

• Sabah Bersatu leader wants SMM to provide full disclosure on mining and private jet scandals.

• Hisyam says firm cannot just shrug things off with mere cancellation, domestic inquiry.

A Bersatu leader has urged Sabah Mineral Management Sdn Bhd (SMM) to provide a full disclosure on two issues plaguing the company.

One is related to the conditional permission granted to Bumi Suria Sdn Bhd to apply for a prospecting licence, and the other involves a private jet trip implicating its SMM CEO Natasha Sim.

“We demand full disclosure, accountability, and justice,” said Sabah Bersatu Youth chief Hisyam Hazaril in a statement today.

Bumi Suria is linked to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s former aide Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak.

On July 21, news portal MalaysiaNow published documents allegedly proving Farhash received authorisation to prospect for minerals across a massive forest reserve in Sabah.

Farhash had dismissed the report as fake, slapping MalaysiaNow with a legal letter and lodging a police report against the portal. SMM also denied the matter.

On July 24, MalaysiaNow published an audio clip tied to the allegation that a coal mining exploration licence in Sabah was approved for a company linked to Farhash.

In response, SMM said it granted conditional permission to apply for a prospecting licence to Bumi Suria, but it was later cancelled after the company failed to submit the required documents.

It said that on March 24, after the company failed to file the required documents, it issued an official letter of cancellation, which accused MalaysiaNow of malicious omission.

Hisyam, on the other hand, said SMM cannot just dismiss the matter by simply announcing that the conditional permission had been cancelled.

Can’t shrug it off

On the private jet issue, the Bersatu leader said the company cannot shrug off the matter by only conducting a domestic inquiry, adding that it fails to inspire public confidence.

“An inquiry conducted internally by individuals who are either employed by or answerable to the very institution under scrutiny cannot, by definition, be independent.

“Such a process is inherently conflicted and lacks the structural impartiality necessary to produce findings credible and trustworthy in the eyes of the public,” Hisyam mentioned.

On July 18, a viral photo showing individuals with luggage beside a private jet triggered a fresh political storm.

The image allegedly features Sim, the company’s secretary Emily Chong, and Sabah timber tycoon Elbert Lim standing next to a jet said to belong to an Indonesian coal magnate.

On July 21, SMM denied any wrongdoing and described the media reports that followed as “false, misleading and defamatory”.

It said an internal inquiry concluded in February had found no conflict of interest, personal gain, or undue influence in relation to the incident.

‘What’s the scope?’

SMM also clarified that it is not a licensing authority and that its CEO does not have the power to grant or approve any licences.

Unimpressed with the explanation, Hisyam said the domestic inquiry also did not provide details in regard to the composition, mandate, methodology, or scope of the internal probe.

“Who conducted the investigation? Were external investigators or oversight bodies involved?

“Were witnesses interviewed, and were conflict-of-interest disclosures made by the investigators themselves? Most importantly, where is the full report?” Hisyam asked.

“The failure to publish the comprehensive findings of this ‘independent internal’ inquiry raises serious red flags.

“The public is expected to accept a clean bill of health based on a conclusory press statement, while the questions around integrity, propriety, and abuse of position remain glaringly unaddressed,” he added.

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