KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe, the State Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister, stated that he was unaware of an ongoing investigation by state graft investigators into contracts and entrepreneur grants under the ministry.
Phoong mentioned that he had informed the state Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) about the matter, which was brought to light by the SabahBigMouth blog. The blog alleged that senior civil servants were under investigation for a conflict of interest in the awarding of contracts for Small Medium Enterprises (SME) and grants.
“Not aware. Let MACC handle it,” he responded on Saturday (March 9) when questioned about the claims made on the blogsite, which also mentioned that MACC had conducted a raid on the ministry’s office and seized documents.
Datuk S. Karunanithy, the Sabah MACC director, was unavailable for immediate comment regarding the allegations put forth by the blog.
The blog further alleged that state MACC officers had confiscated documents from the office of a senior ministry officer, sparking a frenzy on social media platforms since Friday (March 8).
