Graft allegations against senior officer baseless, says ministry

SABAH Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe said he is leaving it to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to probe allegations of corruption in his ministry. 

He said this after graft busters are believed to have confiscated documents from the office of a senior officer at the ministry. 

“I have no comment over this matter. I leave it to the MACC,” he said when approached over the allegations reported in a blog site in Sabah, recently. 

Efforts to verify the matter with the Sabah MACC office were met with no response. 

According to the Sabah Bigmouth blog site, the office of the senior officer was raided and documents linked to alleged misappropriation involving several projects and grants meant for entrepreneurs were confiscated in February. 

The officer had also been questioned for several hours in his office, with the site claiming that was after the MACC received reports over the alleged embezzlement of entrepreneurship grants. 

The report states that the grants were given to undeserving parties while companies and consultancy firms headed by the officer’s kin were also probed. 

The ministry has allocated RM15 million this year to assist SMEs in the state. 

Meanwhile, the ministry in a statement said the State Government has taken note of the allegations against the senior government officer allegedly involved in the misappropriation of entrepreneurial grants. 

It said the allegations were baseless and viewed as an attempt to tarnish the image of the said officer

"The presence of the MACC to conduct an investigation is part of the agency's standard procedure upon receiving any complaint, and full cooperation has been extended," it said. - The Vibes, March 9, 2024