NAMING Bung Moktar Radin deputy chief minister of Sabah sets a bad precedent for the new Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government, said a civil society group and an activist.

Bung Moktar is facing corruption charges and if he is still allowed to hold public office, it is detrimental to democracy, they told The Malaysian Insight.

The National Patriots Association (Patriot) said Bung’s appointment as Sabah deputy chief minister is a possible signal the case against him might be dropped in the near future and he be cleared of all charges.

“It sends a signal that the charges may be dropped. In light of our economy struggling to pick up and where foreign investment is much needed, compromises in integrity and good governance is definitely a no no,” Patriot public communication director Capt (rtd) Wong Ang Peng told The Malaysian Insight.

Bung Moktar, 60, pleaded not guilty to two counts of receiving bribes of RM2.2 million and RM262,500, for obtaining approval for Felcra to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trusts.

Bung Moktar, who was then the Felcra non-executive chairman, was accused of accepting bribes from Public Mutual investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid, 38, through his wife, Zizie A. Samad.

Deficit of integrity

Wong said it is alarming Bung Moktar was appointed as deputy chief minister as it shows a lack of quality leaders from the ruling parties.

“Patriot is shocked to see someone facing a corruption trial being appointed as the deputy chief minister.

“Surely GRS has better leaders. His appointment shows our ruling parties are so deficit of people with integrity.”

Bung Moktar was left out of Muhyiddin Yassin’s cabinet when the prime minister announced his new line-up after Perikatan Nasional (PN) took over federal power in March.

Also left out then were former prime minister Najib Razak, former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, former Federal Territories minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman, former deputy international trade and industry minister Ahmad Maslan and Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, the former Tabung Haji chairman.

All were charged separately with crimes ranging from abuse of power and money-laundering to graft.

Blatant demand

Former Aliran president P. Ramakrishnan said if Bung Moktar is convicted in January when his trial resumes, he would have to be evicted from the post.

“He would have sullied the office of deputy chief minister by his conduct,” Ramakrishnan said.

Ramakrishnan also raised concerns about Bung Moktar’s new infrastructure development portfolio, for which he fought tooth and nail.

“Bung Moktar was so blatant that he could also demand for the portfolio of his choice and strangely, he was rewarded.

“Why does he need this particular portfolio? People are aware that this portfolio involves a lot of contracts,” Ramakrishnan told The Malaysian Insight.

There was drama after Bersatu’s Hajiji Mohd Noor was made chief minister as Bung was unhappy with the housing and local government portfolio.

There was a swap of portfolios between Bung Moktar and Bersatu’s Masidi Manjun after a heated exchange.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Foundation secretary-general Md Alimuddin Rahim told The Malaysian Insight Bung Moktar is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.

“He is under investigation and he is not convicted yet.

“Let us see the court outcome. After that, he has to either appeal, or step down from his position,” he said.

Bung Moktar was made deputy chief minister after Umno conceded the chief minister’s post to Bersatu following the Sabah elections.

PN won 17 seats with Bersatu winning 11 of it, while Umno won 14 seats. – October 2, 2020.