00:00Sabah's mineral wealth has long been a source of both opportunity and contention.
00:05In December last year, a series of videos alleging corruption in the awarding of mining licenses surfaced online, barking public outcry.
00:19The allegations placed Chief Minister Hajji Noor's administration under severe scrutiny and triggered a formal investigation.
00:28Hajji gave his full cooperation and has been fully exonerated, with the tension now shifting to others.
00:35On June 30, two Sabah lawmakers and a businessman were charged in court.
00:41State Assistant Minister Andi Suriadi Bandi, the Tanjung Batu Assemblyman, and Yusuf Yaakob, the representative for Sindumin, pleaded not guilty to accepting bribes of RM200,000 and RM150,000 respectively.
00:56Businessman Albert Tay claimed trial to two counts of making those payments.
01:05In the videos, Tay had alleged the presence of a bribery culture within Sabah's mineral sector.
01:11He said he had paid out more than RM1 million to several assemblymen to secure mineral prospecting licenses.
01:18Tay also accused Hajji of using the licenses to win over the support of five UMNO-Sabah assemblymen and fend off a move by Sabah Barisan National Chief Abou Mokhtar Radin to unseat him two years ago.
01:32In April, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner Azam Baki cleared Hajji of any wrongdoing.
01:39He said two statements were recorded from the Chief Minister over the course of a wide-ranging investigation.
01:47That investigation initially saw MACC rule out acting on the videos supplied by Tay on grounds that they may have been tampered with.
01:55However, the anti-grav body resumed its probe after receiving 10 new and unedited videos from Lawyers for Liberty in March of this year.
02:06It also deployed a large team to conduct additional questioning and collect additional audio, video and documentary evidence.
02:13On June 19th, Azam announced that four individuals would be brought to court to face criminal charges.
02:20Tay's initial revelations had left Hajji's administration on the ropes.
02:25But the Chief Minister appears to have emerged unscathed and has steadied his ship considerably.
02:31Hajji recently claimed that the cases won't affect the state government and that he intends to allow the law to take its course.
02:38Meanwhile, Sabah Mineral Management is suing former CEO John Teh Engihan and Tay for fraud, breach of trust and a conspiracy to manipulate the issuance of the licenses.
02:50Both John Teh and Tay have strenuously denied the allegations.
02:55The case is pending in the Kota Kinabalu High Court.
02:58Hajji has demonstrated steady leadership in the face of adversity.
03:02But questions remain about whether GRS's relationship with BN can be repaired before the next state polls due by December this year.
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