KOTA KINABALU: State minister Datuk Mohd Arifin Arif (pic) has lodged a report against a news portal alleging that he had attempted to buy off a whistleblower to change the narrative of a mining scandal that implicated eight Sabah assemblymen.
Ariffin, who is Sabah Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, lodged the report at the Kota Kinabalu police headquarters in Kepayan on Wednesday.
He said it was an outright lie done with a malicious intention.
“I want to state that the report is ill-intended because it has incorrect, confusing, fake and false information.
“That report clearly shows that the individual and his gang of cartels will use all tricks to get the mining licence, including slandering me and others,” Arifin said.
He said by spreading such news and false information, these individuals prove that their motive is to monopolise the mining licence in Sabah.
He added that no one from the news portal contacted him to get his side of the story and to get verification prior to releasing the article.
“Therefore, I will take legal action against those who slander and act as an accomplice to this mining licence monopoly cartel,” he said.
He said he would leave the matter to his lawyers to handle.
In the online report, Arifin was accused of offering a solution to silence the whistleblower about the Sabah mining licence scandal.
