PETER Anthony is expected to report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office at 2.30pm tomorrow, said his lawyer, Martin Tommy.

He said news of MACC giving the Parti Warisan Sabah vice-president and a lawyer, Michael Ubu, 48 hours to surrender themselves over alleged breach of trust came as a surprise to Anthony.

He said Anthony never left Sabah, and that MACC did not contact Anthony or himself before issuing the notice.

“Anthony has been in Sabah all along and has never breached the terms of his bail.

“He is not feeling well, and is currently resting with his family in Tenom or Keningau.

“As far as we know, Ubu is a lawyer appointed by Risda to assist in the land purchase. But Ubu is nowhere to be found.

“Even so, Anthony and Ubu have no connection whatsoever.

“MACC’s handling of the case is quite unprofessional,” said the lawyer at a Warisan press conference in Kota Kinabalu today.

Present were party vice-president Junz Wong, Youth chief Azis Jamman and deputy Youth chief Nicholas Chak.

A statement issued by the anti-graft agency yesterday called on Anthony and Ubu to turn themselves in at the MACC office in Jalan Sulaman, Kota Kinabalu, within 48 hours in relation to a criminal breach of trust case involving RM15 million.

The RM15 million is a 10% deposit for oil palm land in Tongod, which was sold for RM155 million.

Tommy said the sum was paid through Ubu’s law firm, which handled the purchase on behalf of Risda some years ago.

Risda is an agency under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, and the deal is believed to have been made when Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal was minister, between 2009 and 2015.

“Something happened in the land deal, and the lawyer was supposed to refund the sum to Risda. Perhaps, the purchase failed,” said Tommy.

“It is unlikely that Shafie was involved, as usually, when dealing with native title land, if the owner refuses to sell it, the minister will cancel the purchase.” – January 4, 2018.