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Albert’s Pandora’s Box won’t stop sneezing scandals
‘Boleh main bola, tapi boleh cakap Melayu ke?’
Sarawak bubbles over Peninsular booze clash
Albert’s Pandora’s Box won’t stop sneezing scandals
Businessperson Albert Tei, who blew the lid off the mining scandal, has now opened another can of worms - this time, over scrap metal.
And caught beneath the rusty beams is Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) acting president Dr Joachim Gunsalam, who maintains his innocence. He was also implicated in the mining scandal, which he likewise denied any wrongdoing in.
Tei claimed he had set up a “proxy firm” in 2022 to help the senior politician execute an alleged plan to monopolise the state’s scrap metal trade and produced two purported official letters to back his claim.
He also threw down the gauntlet to Gunsalam and his deputy, Jahid Jahim, who allegedly authored one of the letters, challenging them to lodge a police report if his allegations were false.
Joachim, in turn, fired back, accusing Tei of harbouring his own ambitions to corner the scrap metal market, just as he had allegedly tried with the state’s mining sector.
Tei’s revelations - and the scandals that seem to follow him - have become a persistent thorn in the side of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition as it gears up to defend its rule in the coming state polls.
Since last November, the businessperson has implicated more than a dozen GRS politicians, claiming they accepted bribes in exchange for mineral exploration licences.
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‘Boleh main bola, tapi boleh cakap Melayu ke?’
This is the question that seems to be dribbling through PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari’s mind following Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s remarks about the seven footballers in the national team who were granted Malaysian citizenship.
So, he decided to kick things up a notch and challenged the minister to release a short video clip of the players speaking in the national language.
“Does the minister dare to take up the challenge and show a brief interview in Malay with these seven players to prove that they can speak the language, even at a basic level?” he asked.
His call came after Saifuddin said that all seven players had fulfilled the requirements under the law to be granted citizenship by naturalisation, including having proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia.
The national football team, Harimau Malaya, was recently defanged after Fifa’s disciplinary committee sank its teeth into the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the seven players.
Fifa said FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the players’ eligibility, enabling them to feature in the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.
FAM, which is appealing the decision, has attributed it to an “administrative mistake”.
However, Fadhli claims the explanations are getting knottier than a football net, leaving Malaysian fans scratching their heads.
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Sarawak bubbles over Peninsular booze clash
Tempers in the peninsula have been brewing over booze and champagne showers, and somehow, even Sarawak’s politicians are waking up with a political hangover.
It all began when Sarawak Deputy Premier Dr Sim Kui Hian decided to draw a line between the state and Peninsular Malaysia, proudly pointing out the Land of the Hornbill’s laissez-faire approach to alcohol.
“Here, we just drink when we want to - it’s no big deal. That’s just our way of life,” declared the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) president.
But DAP’s Pending assemblyperson Violet Yong poured cold water on the cheer, firing back with a sobering question - why was Sim silent when the locally brewed Santubong beer was forced off the shelves?
Not one to let things go flat, SUPP public complaints bureau chief Milton Foo, who once faced Yong in the 2021 Sarawak state election, popped back with his own retort.
“You can get Sarawak’s local beer 1602 at the annual Kuching Festival every year, right?”
“So how could someone who has been a YB for 20 years not know something that every Kuching resident knows?” Foo shot back, ensuring that the debate continues to fizz.
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Views that matter
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