KOTA KINABALU – Do not be misled by allegations made by bloggers friendly to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, said Parti Warisan Sabah vice-president Datuk Jaujan Sambakong following a post claiming that the state attorney-general was earning RM60,000 a month.
Jaujan was responding to blogger Selvaraja Somiah, who said Datuk Brenndon Soh was given the handsome salary when he was appointed by the then Warisan state government.
The contract signed by Soh is the same as those inked by three former state attorneys-general, who were from private practice, he said.
“Brenndon’s salary is commensurate with his grade of Utama Turus II, VU3, in the state civil service.
“He is a respected lawyer, and sacrificed a lucrative private practice to serve the state government on a much reduced salary.
“It would be unfair for anyone to smear him with the unsubstantiated claim of receiving a grossly exaggerated amount in a bid to oust him from the post.
“As a highly regarded lawyer in the legal fraternity, he held the post of Sabah Law Society president for two terms. It was also during his term that the Sabah Law Society was elevated to a fully fledged statutory Bar.”
Selvaraja, a former Parti Bersatu Sabah candidate in the 1995 Penang election, also alleged that Datuk Cyrus V. Das was paid RM3 million for his legal services.
Jaujan said Cyrus was paid in accordance with professional fees for appearing at the Federal Court.
“The allegation that the amount was RM3 million is no way close to his fees,” he said, adding that it would not be fair or professional to reveal the amount paid.
“All I can say is that the figure of RM3 million is a figment of the blogger’s imagination.”
Cyrus represented the Sabah government and then chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal at the Court of Appeal on the July 30 dissolution of the state assembly. – The Vibes, November 23, 2020
