Abdullah Says Yong Is Greedy, Uses ACA

Did Umno, Abdullah, ACA know about the RM5 million before or after Yong wants to push a motion of no-confidence against Abdullah? How much more is the public kept in the dark in the world of Malaysian politics? You keep quiet, I won't expose? You play dirty, I'll be dirtier! Meanwhile the dirt piles up...it didn't even start with a mole (from a hill to mountain within weeks).

Friday June 20, 2008

‘Yong put greed before Sabah’

KUALA LUMPUR: If Datuk Yong Teck Lee was not greedy, he could have played a significant role in bringing positive development to Sabah, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Elaborating on his statement on Wednesday that he “had not been able to satisfy his (Yong’s) personal greed,” Abdullah, the Barisan Nasional chairman, said that when he visited Sabah recently, he discovered that Yong was more interested in what PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was offering him.

“God knows what Anwar is offering him, high post and so on. That’s why I said he was greedy.

“If not, he could have played a role that will bring something for the good of Sabah,” the Prime Minister told a press conference after chairing the emergency Barisan supreme council meeting here yesterday.

Abdullah said that when the Barisan leadership was deciding on candidates for the recent general election, Yong had already made a decision which SAPP members were to stand as candidates.

Yong then requested for an additional seat so that he could contest but there were no more seats left for the party, he said.

“So since there was no seat, he requested for seats that had been allocated for other (component) parties, and naturally it would not be possible,” he added.

Abdullah said Yong was unhappy about this and wanted to contest the Sandakan parliamentary seat (which was an LDP seat) and the Kota Kinabalu seat, which was already allotted to Parti Bersatu Sabah.

He said the other parties were not going to make way for Yong and the decision was then made that Yong could not contest as a candidate.

Abdullah said he had told Yong after the elections that he would be made a special envoy connected to the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), including giving him roles connected to the promotion of trade and tourism for Sabah and also help out on issues on illegal immigration and other matters.

“I informed (Sabah Chief Minister) Datuk Musa Aman, and Musa was pleased with what I had decided. He also told me Yong had already been informed of the appointment.

“Suddenly, he buat perangai (acts up),” he added.

Abdullah said he had wanted to meet Yong during his visit to Sabah several days ago, but Yong was nowhere to be found.

He added that Yong did not attend the meeting when he made his announcement concerning several outstanding issues that had been raised by Sabah.

“Yong was in Sandakan and it seemed that he had begun creating other stories.

“In the end, we realised what he actually wanted. It appears as if he was more interested in what Anwar wanted to offer him.

“He wanted bigger things because of what Anwar had offered,” Abdullah said.

It had been reported that Yong was hoping to make a political comeback after a five-year ban for an election offence by trying to become a candidate for the Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seats.

ACA to question Yong over RM5m payment

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — In a quick turn of events, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) announced today it will question Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee over the payment of RM5 million to his agents from proceeds of the sale of shares from a state-owned company.

The Star newspaper, in a text message news alert, reported that the ACA will question Yong over the allegations by a witness in a Borneo High Court yesterday who claimed the former Sabah chief minister had ordered the payment to his agents in 1996.

Yong is currently chairing his party's supreme council meeting two days after announcing that SAPP lawmakers will initiate or support a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when Parliament reconvenes next week. The SAPP is part of the 14-member BN coalition that lost its traditional two-thirds majority in the March general election.

A Barisan Nasional supreme council meeting yesterday said it would not take action against the SAPP as it believed Yong was acting out of personal greed.

In the Sabah capital of Kota Kinabalu, former Briskmark Enterprise Sdn Bhd director Datuk Wasli Mohd Said told the High Court that Yong had instructed him that part of the profit from the sale of shares be paid to his selected agents.

He was testifying in the trial of former Land and Cooperative Development Minister Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam, who is alleged to have used his position as Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB) chairman for financial gain by taking part in the decision to approve the proposed sale of 16.8 million Sapi Plantation shares held by SLDB to Briskmark.

Kasitah, 60, is also alleged to have deceived SLDB by omitting to disclose the offer by PPB Oil Palms to allocate 5 shares for each Sapi share in its proposed listing exercise.

When questioned further, Wasli said one of the payments to Yong's agents was made just before the 1999 general election.

He added that besides Yong, he paid RM500,000 to each of eight board members of Briskmark as a donation but did not receive any receipts for the payments to Yong's agents and the others.

Friday June 20, 2008

Yong-deputy showdown expected today

By MUGUNTAN VANAR and RUBEN SARIO

KOTA KINABALU: A showdown between Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Yong Teck Lee and his deputy Datuk Raymond Tan is expected at the 35-member supreme council meeting here today.

Tan, one of the three deputies, is likely to challenge Yong’s stand of a no-confidence move against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that the party boss announced on Wednesday.

If the Yong-Tan clash turns into an outright political battle, the feeling among some SAPP top brass is that Tan and his faction could break away to either form a new party or join another Barisan Nasional party.

Tan, who is Karamunting assemblyman, has gone on record to say that he and others were not consulted over the no-confidence move and the supreme council’s consensus was not obtained.

“It is completely wrong,” said Tan, a deputy chief minister and state infrastructure minister, who has broken ranks with his party boss.

An aide of Tan had in the morning informed the media that a press conference would be held at 3pm yesterday.

However, he later deferred the conference because Barisan was holding an emergency supreme council meeting in Putrajaya that discussed the position of SAPP.

As of 8pm, Tan, who had stated on Wednesday that he would be attending today's supreme council meeting, did not respond to calls.

SAPP secretary-general Datuk Richard Yong said the agenda for the meeting from 10am at its headquarters in Borneon Centre in Luyang was on the stand taken by the party president and two MPs – Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui and Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun.

“Definitely, we will discuss the no-confidence move and the explanation that may be given to Barisan,” said Richard Yong, who did not expect a showdown between Yong and Tan to take place.

Eric, also a deputy president, and a third deputy president, Datuk Liew Teck Chan, will be returning from overseas to attend the meeting.

Eric, Liew and state assistant finance minister Melanie Chai with Elopura assemblyman Au Kam Wah had kept an awkward silence in contrast to the days prior to Wednesday’s announcement when they usually reply to queries from the media promptly.

Reaction to the SAPP’s stand is varied although a general feeling among the man-in-the-street is that state politicians should continue to fight in the interest of Sabahans.

“I think the move to put pressure is good for Sabah but we have to see what happens next. It might backfire,” said Idris Mahmud, a coffeeshop owner who complained about the rising cost of living.