An anti-corruption group has chastised Albert Tei, the businessman at the centre of the Sabah mining scandal, for portraying himself as a hero in the affair despite admitting to paying people off to secure licences.
Malaysia Corruption Watch president Jais Abdul Karim said Tei’s excuse that he had paid money to certain individuals on grounds that he wanted to break into the mining sector was unacceptable.
Jais said Tei’s admission, made during a recent podcast, also meant he could not be labelled an anti-graft hero.
He said if Tei really wanted to do business legally, he should not have bribed anyone.
Nor could he cite the purported “systematic corruption” in Sabah, as standard procedures are in place for lodging complaints with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
“If he was really under pressure (to bribe…