Sabah's forest reserves would have been lost for a mere RM350 million if deal by Shafie Apdal's company with Yayasan Sabah had not been stopped, say two witnesses to deal.
Musa Aman helped save the state from a potentially bad deal which would have seen Sabah’s forest reserves lost, say ex-Sabah Foundation officials. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: Claims that Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman had abused his position in Yayasan Sabah are unfounded, said two former key officials from the foundation who set the record straight today, Daily Express reported.
Former Yayasan Sabah deputy director Tengku Zainal Adlin and former CEO of its investment arm, Innoprise Corporation Sdn Bhd (ICSB), Abdul Kadir Damsal, said Musa had actually helped save the state from a potentially bad deal which would have seen Sabah’s forest reserves lost.
The duo were witnesses to a RM350 million deal in 1996 where a public-listed company of which Warisan president Shafie Apdal was chairman was said to have secured a deal that would have seen the company lay its hands on Yayasan Sabah’s timber concessions.
“Musa deserves more credit than what we give him for this act of bravery. Acting on his conscience and seeing that he needed federal backing, he got the relevant authorisation and stopped the deal.
“It will not be wrong to say that Yayasan Sabah may not exist today if the deal had gone through because it would have been unable to fulfil the very purpose for which it was set up by then CM Datu Mustapha in 1967,” they were quoted as saying by the Sabah-based daily.
They added that Yayasan Sabah would have been unable to meet its obligations of providing economic and educational facilities as well as equitable sharing of the state’s wealth among Sabahans had Musa not called off the controversial deal between ICSB and North Borneo Timbers Bhd (NBT). Shafie was then chairman of NBT.
“If the deal had not been called off, technically all of Sabah’s forest concessions would have been controlled by NBT for a mere RM350 million. The efforts that went into stopping the deal was like a real drama,” Tengku Adlin told the newspaper.
The two former Yayasan Sabah officials said they only decided to speak up now because it had again become an issue in the current general election campaign.
“It is important for the public to know what really happened.
“The then BOT (board of trustees) was going to assign 100,000ha of logged-over forest reserve under a 100 years’ concession through NBT.
“It would have allowed NBT access to 100,000ha of timber land owned by Rakyat Berjaya Sdn Bhd, an ICSB subsidiary, for RM150 million,” Tengku Adlin told the daily.
According to them, Musa was against the plan, stating it was in the best interests of the foundation and ICSB not to proceed. He also cited “valuation problems” in the deal.
“At the end of the day, the deal would have seen Yayasan Sabah losing all its core timber assets for a paltry RM350 million.
“This is what made Musa furious. What also disappointed him was that the deal involved NBT, of which Shafie was the chairman, who should have known better.
“It was tantamount to the foundation being literally sold lock, stock and barrel for a mere RM350 million,” Tengku Adlin said.
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