KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan is ready to face any developments over the so-called "secret video recording" linking him to the Sabah mining prospecting bribery scandal.
The Sabah STAR president said that he did not rule out any further developments in the matter.
"I am ready for anything," he said after having his statement recorded for over five hours by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) here on Thursday (Sept 25).
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"Let's focus on the people and the state election," he said when asked about claims in the video that up to RM1.6mil was given to him for the prospecting licence.
The emergence of the video, said to have been recorded by the businessman who previously released nine videos implicating four state ministers and assemblymen in the scandal, comes ahead of the impending state election.
Two assemblymen with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and a businessman have been charged in court over bribery-related offences.
Kitingan, who has been pushing for the GRS coalition government led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to go solo, has been posturing to leave the coalition as his party was not keen for GRS to tie up with national unity government partner Pakatan Harapan.
ALSO READ: Heat is on Kitingan to take Sabah STAR out of GRS
Political talk has been growing that Sabah STAR might pull out if GRS does not get to contest 55 of the 73 seats in its electoral pact with Pakatan.
However, most observers expect any movement out of GRS to only take place after the dissolution of the state assembly, whose term expires on Nov 11.
Kitingan's political secretary Anuar Ghani said the deputy chief minister had cooperated fully with graft investigators.
"We advise allowing the investigation to proceed without interference and to wait for its outcome. The public should not speculate. Respect the rule of law," he said in a statement.
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Anuar said Kitingan urged the people to stay focused on important issues facing Sabah, such as asserting its 40% revenue share rights, territorial rights to oil and gas, flood mitigation projects, climate change, food security and pressing social concerns.
"These matters require our collective focus," he said.
Anuar feared that the current situation could be used to negatively influence public perception, undermining the reputation and credibility of Sabah’s leaders, especially those who historically have resisted dominance by Putrajaya.
"Such tactics risk eroding the confidence Sabahans have in their local leaders," he said, adding that the decision on who governs Sabah rests with its people.
