PARTI Warisan Sabah vice-president Peter Anthony has dismissed the latest allegation against him over a land deal as a “lie”.

Responding to a late-night statement issued by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday, urging the Warisan leader and a lawyer to surrender within 48 hours, Anthony said he had not gone into hiding.

In a WhatsApp message to The Malaysian Insight, he said he had been questioned many times before by MACC, and always cooperated with the anti-graft agency.

“I am definitely not running away,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“I will hold a press conference later today.”

On the latest allegation by MACC, Anthony said: “This is a lie.”

MACC, in the statement, said Anthony and lawyer Michael Ubu had been given 48 hours to surrender at its office in Jalan Sulaman, Kota Kinabalu.

The statement said the two were wanted for questioning over a RM155 million land deal in the rural district of Tongod.

Anthony, a 46-year-old businessman turned politician, has been detained twice before by MACC.

His first brush with the law was on October 5 last year, when he was investigated over the alleged embezzlement of federal funds meant for rural Sabah projects.

On November 7, he was again at the MACC office, this time, being investigated over an alleged RM42 million false claim made in relation to a landscaping project for Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

Now, Anthony and Ubu are wanted for questioning over the sale of 2,428ha of oil palm land in Tongod two years ago.

A Sabah news portal reported that MACC had opened an investigation paper on what Risda had alleged was a breach of trust.

SabahKini2 said Risda had paid 10% in the law firm of Michael Ubu and Co in July 2014. The firm is owned by Anthony.

The case was dragged on for years to allow the firm and lawyer to return the deposit.

It was also said that Anthony had not reported himself to the MACC office over the past two months, violating a court order after his last remand. – January 4, 2018.