NOT so long ago, some Sabah UMNO leaders were baying for blood, pointing fingers at the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government with accusations of corruption and abuse of power.
The tone was righteous, the message clear: the buck stops with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor who must be held accountable.
Fast forward to today, and the very critics who took the moral high ground in the mining license controversy are now facing the same accusations levelled at the Hajiji administration before this.
Barely hours after corruption charges were brought against two Sabah assemblymen and a so-called “whistleblower” Albert Tei (main image, right) on Monday (June 30), the internet is abuzz with salacious details of how several UMNO leaders were themselves entangled in the very sector they once decried as tainted.
One piece of “evidence” is a purported letter dated December 2021 – reportedly from a mining company – addressed to Hajiji and carried the support of then-deputy chief minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin who is also the Sabah UMNO chief.
The company was seeking approval for a mining licence. This isn’t mere speculation; the documents are circulating publicly. For those who had accused GRS of granting favours, this letter is nothing short of damning, especially in the absence of any rebuttals.
For the record, Bung who has since been booted from the Hajiji Cabinet after the former’s failed coup in the now-infamous “Kinabalu Move” in 2023 is now a top critic of Hajiji.
But the letter where Bung allegedly lent his support to the company to apply for a mining license is not the only item generating heated chatter.
There is also a list circulated widely on Telegram, Facebook and various online forum detailing which UMNO leaders allegedly received payments from businessmen linked to Sabah’s mining boom.
UMNO’s deafening silence
The sums are said to be substantial. The claims are specific. And the silence from those implicated is telling.
FocusM has attempted to reach out to those implicated for comments, including Bung but has yet to receive any response.
Even more intriguing is the alleged link between some of these dealings and a Singaporean businessman with reported interests in iron ore mining in Chaah, Segamat. According to news portal reports and social media chatter, this individual is said to have close business ties with Tei, the “hot air blower”.
Company records and business filings available in the public domain suggest that Tei is connected to at least two Sabah-registered companies with overlapping interests in mineral exploration and extraction.
The online narrative – widely circulated though yet to be confirmed by investigators – suggests that these companies may have served as vehicles for both the whistleblowing campaign and mining-related lobbying efforts.
For those observing from the sidelines, the reversal is almost poetic. The critics have become the accused. The loudest voices against Hajiji’s leadership are now under scrutiny themselves. And the so-called whistleblower – once lionised for his boldness – is facing serious legal questions.
This episode does not absolve anyone. Sabahans are right to demand accountability – whether from GRS, UMNO or any other party.
But accountability must be applied consistently. The selective outrage that once targeted Hajiji now appears hollow. It is difficult to preach about integrity when one’s own allies are facing corruption allegations.
The lesson here is simple: political moralism often conceals deeper motivations. Those who cry foul the loudest may simply be jockeying for position, hoping to unseat rivals through smoke and mirrors. In this case, the smoke is starting to clear and what’s being revealed is not flattering.
As the legal process unfolds, Sabahans deserve transparency, not theatrics. And if nothing else, the recent developments should remind voters that loud accusations are no substitute for clean hands. – July 4, 2025
Main image credit: JalinLuin.com
