KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan claims the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government is deflecting attention from its own alleged corruption and abuse of power through its latest attempt to link the opposition party to the latest mining licence controversy.
Warisan information chief Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman said attempts to link the former Warisan-led state administration to the project were misleading, stressing that the company’s licence was only granted in January this year under the GRS government.
“This is nothing more than a diversion tactic. The GRS government is facing serious issues of credibility, including allegations of corruption, and now they are using this issue to deflect attention,” said Azis in a statement on Monday (April 7).
He clarified that the now-viral Lincah Hebah Utama (LHU) letter dated Jan 31, 2019, was not an approval document but merely an acknowledgment issued by the Mineral and Energy Resources Office as part of standard operating procedure for handling applications.
Quoting former natural resources secretary Datuk Mohd Salleh Abbas, Azis said: “The letter clearly states the application was still under review. It is not, and never was, an approval.”
He noted that the actual licence for LHU was only issued on Jan 20, 2025, under the GRS government.
“If they were so against the project, why did they approve it five years later?” he questioned.
Azis further challenged the ruling coalition to come clean about the project.
“Who owns Lincah Hebat? Who lobbied for the licence? Who profits from it? Is this another case of political cronyism?” he asked, demanding full disclosure of documents related to the approval, including the environmental impact assessment (EIA), company ownership details, and justifications behind the licence issuance.
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