PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has confirmed that no mineral exploration activities were conducted in Sabah by the company linked to Datuk Seri Farhash Wafa Salvador.
MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki stated that investigations revealed the company never applied for land from the Sabah state government.
The company only submitted a mineral exploration application to Sabah Mineral Management Sdn Bhd according to the commission’s findings.
Azam clarified that the application received conditional approval from SMM in March 2023 rather than official state government endorsement.
“The company linked to Farhash was said to have received approval from the state to explore minerals in Sabah,“ he said during a press conference.
“Our investigations found that no land application was made,“ he added.
“What existed was only a mineral exploration application to SMM, and SMM initially granted conditional approval in March 2023, subject to the company submitting required documentation,“ he explained.
The company failed to submit necessary documents leading to application cancellation on March 21 this year.
“As a result, no exploration activities ever took place because the company did not fulfil the documentation requirements,“ Azam confirmed.
The investigation included statements from all relevant parties including SMM and state government individuals.
The probe found no issues of governance or wrongdoing according to the MACC chief commissioner.
“The deputy public prosecutor concluded that there were no criminal offences committed under the MACC Act 2009, the Penal Code, or any other laws,“ he stated.
“Therefore, the case has been officially closed,“ Azam confirmed.
Regarding the separate Sabah mining corruption scandal, Azam noted that two state assemblymen and businessman Datuk Albert Tei were charged in court in June.
“The remaining six assemblymen are still under review, with no decisions yet from the deputy public prosecutor,“ he added.
Media reports previously indicated eight assemblymen were allegedly involved in the mining-related corruption scandal. – Bernama
