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(The Star) - The Anti-Corruption Agency’s investigation on Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee for alleged payment of over RM5mil to his agents was not an instruction from “higher authorities” nor was it politically motivated.
ACA director-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan said neither was the agency’s decision to open an investigation paper on the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president a form of threat as claimed by Yong. “We are investigating based on a statement made by a witness in a court case which was made under oath. It has nothing to do with politics. “It is just mere coincidence that his name came up in a trial and we decided to investigate him when he is embroiled in political turmoil. Our decision has nothing to do with politics,” he told a press conference here last night. A witness, former director of Briskmark Enterprise Sdn Bhd Datuk Wasli Mohd Said, in the trial of former Land and Co-operative Development Minister Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam told the court on Thursday that Yong had ordered payment of over RM5mil profit from the sale of shares belonging to a state-owned company to his agents in 1996 when he was the chief minister. Following the testimony, the ACA on Friday said that it would investigate Yong and investigations would cover abuse of power and accepting of bribes. Yong later claimed that the sudden probe was deliberately done to instil fear and to ensure others toed the line, adding that he had already given his statement on the matter four or five years ago. Ahmad Said acknowledged that Yong had given his statement a few years ago but it was for the case that was at present on trial, and not for the alleged RM5mil that he had ordered to be paid to eight other individuals. “I must stress that we are not being influenced by anyone. We are an independent body which investigates any case of corruption, no matter who the person involved is.” Ahmad Said said that apart from Yong and Wasli, the agency would also investigate the eight people whose names were mentioned in the trial.
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