KOTA KINABALU: DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke used a fundraising dinner here on Friday (Sept 26) to underline his party’s clean political culture, while steering clear of commenting on the ongoing scandal involving Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) leaders.
Almost a dozen GRS politicians have been linked to leaked videos and claims tied to businessman Albert Tei, putting the coalition under scrutiny.
Loke admitted he was unsettled when the news first surfaced, revealing that he immediately called Sabah DAP chief Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe to check if he had been targeted.
“I asked him, ‘Is there a video of you? Many others have videos, do you?’ He replied, ‘Absolutely not. I was never in such discussions, and I will never entertain these people.’ That’s why he (Phoong) is different. He is clean, he has integrity. DAP is different, we would not betray people’s trust,” Loke told the crowd.
He praised Phoong, who is Sabah’s Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister, as a young and progressive leader, but did not touch on Pakatan Harapan’s partnership with GRS, whose leaders are facing allegations.
Earlier Friday, Prime Minister and Pakatan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took aim at corruption during a speech in Sabah.
“I was arrested, beaten, tortured in prison, I forgive. I was humiliated, stripped of dignity, I forgive.
“But if you steal the people’s money, if you take billions belonging to them, that I cannot forgive,” he said, with Sabah Chief Minister and GRS Chairman, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, in attendance.
Although Anwar did not mention anyone by name, his remarks were widely seen as directed at Deputy Chief Minister Jeffrey Kitingan, who was recently questioned by the MACC over claims he received RM1.78mil from Tei.
Kitingan has denied wrongdoing, but Tei later produced documents which he said supported his allegations.
