BILLIONS of ringgit pilfered from sectors such as land and timber to contracts for hospital and schools are just some of the areas in which Sabah’s wealth has been looted by corrupt leaders in power during Barisan Nasional’s more than 20-year rule.

This was what Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal said today in describing how politicians had infiltrated companies or appointed proxies to reap the benefits of the state, enriching themselves in the process. 

“The setup was so complex that they had appointed proxies to escape detection. 

“This is why we are now undertaking reforms in many agencies and government-linked companies.

“We will screen all contracts to ensure no more proxies are being used by politicians to make a quick buck,” said Shafie during his address at a function for civil servants in Semporna today. 

Shafie cited government subsidiary Benta Wawasan, which had been given 150,000 acres (60,702ha) of land by the previous government. 

“Today, Benta only manages 40,000 acres (16,200ha). Only 20,000 acres (8,093ha) was used for oil palm cultivation. 

“The remaining 110,000 acres (44,515ha), meanwhile, were given to rich towkays.

“The towkays may not just be Chinese, they were also Malays, Bajaus… But they were Sabah Umno towkays,” he said. 

Shafie said Rakyat Berjaya Sdn Bhd and Sabah Softwood also began facing problems since his government took over. 

“If I were to name them one by one, there are just too many. 

“This is why we are going through all the BN-era deals one by one. 

“I will not hesitate to terminate contracts or whatever. 

“(But) the problems cannot be solved overnight,” he said. 

Shafie also named Warisan Harta, into which the former state government had pumped hundreds of millions of ringgit, but was now left with only a few million ringgit. 

Meanwhile, while the government owns a 60% stake in Sabah Air, the remaining 40% is owned by a “certain individual”. He also said the land on which Gleneagles Hospital, into which the previous government had pumped in a few million ringgit, sits is owned by the individual. 

“The same with the company that is doing the maintenance for the new chief minister’s building. It is owned by the certain individual. 

“The maintenance alone costs us more than RM2 million a month,” said Shafie. 

He said the new government also had to terminate more than 30 outsourced water department contracts in a bid to curb the financial bleeding of the government. 

Towards this end, Shafie said the government would eliminate corrupt practices and channel all revenue and funding back to each agency and GLC. 

He said when GLCs make more money, it could do more for Sabahans, such as by providing scholarships. – January 14, 2019.