KOTA KINABALU – Newly minted state Public Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya has vowed to take action if allegations of a decades-long kickback scheme in the State Water Department turn out to be true.
Shahelmey, who is also deputy chief minister, said he was not aware of the scheme but will get the audit report and will take the necessary action.
“I’m not sure if such practice still exists as this is my first day in office and I have yet to find out. I will work with the permanent secretary and if there’s any wrongdoing, we will take necessary action to stop it from recurring.
“Give me some time; I need to get the report and be fully briefed on the matter,” he told the press after clocking in at the ministry here today.
A deliberate kickback scheme, benefitting senior Sabah officers and ministers, allegedly had been going on decades.
Former Sabah Water Department deputy director Teo Chee Kong told the special corruption court here that the list of commissions had gone to director (5%), quantity surveyor (3%), chief water engineer, and accountant (1%) from 1989 until September 2003.
It was allegedly revised by former department director Ag Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib to 10.75%.
Teo was testifying in the trial of former Sabah Water Department director Ag Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib, 58, and his wife, Fauziah Piut, 55, who are jointly tried with Lim Lam Beng, 66, to 37 counts of money laundering charges, involving cash and bank savings amounting to RM61.57 million, as well as unlawful possession of luxury goods. – The Vibes, January 12, 2023
Additional reporting by Rebecca Chong
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