A senior officer with the Kedah state government has been remanded to assist in the investigation into alleged corruption and power abuse involving rare earth elements (REE) mining in the state. The suspect, who is in his 50s, was arrested on Sunday at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Alor Setar. The arrest was made over suspicions of soliciting RM1 million in bribes from a company owner.
Magistrate Muhammad Zul Hilmi Latif granted a three-day remand order until July 26 after MACC investigators applied for the suspect to be remanded at the Alor Setar Magistrate Court. This brings the total number of suspects arrested in relation to the case to four, including the CEO of Mentri Besar Kedah Inc.
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hashim, Senior Director of Investigation at MACC, confirmed the arrest. The MACC has initiated an investigation into allegations of power abuse involving a Mentri Besar concerning the illegal mining of REE, which has resulted in losses for the state government.
The anti-graft agency has announced that caretaker Kedah mentri besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor will be called in for questioning as part of their investigation into the REE mining activities.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
