KOTA KINABALU – Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan needs to explain the reason behind appointing Singapore-based Hoch Standard Pte Ltd as a third party in the highly controversial Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA) when the company’s credentials are dubious, said a Warisan leader.
Merotai assemblyman Sarifuddin Hata said a simple search on companies in Singapore clearly shows that Hoch Standard only has a paid-up capital of US$1,000 (RM4,179.50) and has no evident record in carbon trading.
“I was there at the sitting of the Sabah assembly in December and witnessed Jeffrey saying its paid-up capital was US$10 million.
“Jeffrey must explain why he failed to tell the truth in the assembly instead of misleading the House and the people by claiming the company had US$10 million as paid-up capital,” said Sarifuddin, who was previously assistant finance minister, in a statement today.
According to a report in the Hansard dated 8 December 2021, Kitingan was quoted as saying that the government has agreed to sign an agreement with Hoch Standard because Hoch Standard has the capability.
Sarifuddin also questioned the furtive manner in which the NCA suddenly emerged and the lack of transparency on the deal.
He said that Kitingan, in an act of desperation to ensure the contentious deal went ahead, has finally resorted to mud-slinging without a care for the interest of Sabahans.
On Kitingan’s allegations that Warisan had organised a seminar on the matter, former Sabah Economic Development Corporation chairman Datuk Dr Richard Gunting clarified that it was merely a brainstorming session to explore the economic potentials of nature capital in Sabah.
Untrue that Warisan had been working on same deal: Sarifuddin
Sarifuddin said any proposal of such a deal did not even reach the cabinet level during the Warisan Plus government, because then-Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal was concerned that it might jeopardise land ownership for the indigenous communities.
“Jeffrey’s claims that Warisan had been working on the same deal is simply not true. Not every proposal that reaches the chief minister’s desk gets approved.
“As a minister, he should know that. Unless Jeffrey is trying to be a spin doctor in this case.
“My advice is for him to just tell the truth,” he said, claiming that the controversial NCA is embarrassing for Sabah and has put the state in a bad light even on the international level.
Sarifuddin urged Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor not to remain silent on the issue and to come out once and for all to say whether the NCA has been axed or allowed to go ahead.
“There has been no clear statement so far and I’m wondering if the state cabinet is complicit in the deal,” he said.
“Cancelling the agreement is the noble and right thing to do for Sabahans. Not just today, but for many generations to come.”
Earlier, Kitingan accused Shafie of misrepresenting the NCA after the latter had rubbished the claim that the NCA deal had been debated and passed in the Sabah assembly last year. – The Vibes, February 4, 2022
