Sri Tanjong representative Justin Wong said without regulatory laws no one could be held accountable if “things went wrong”.
“Looking at the magnitude of this agreement, we do not want to see another 1MDB-like scandal happening on our own soil,” Wong said, referring to the controversy surrounding the investment arm.
Wong said this when debating the state budget 2022 here today.
He also expressed disappointment with Jeffrey Kitingan after the deputy chief minister was reported to have said that there was no necessity to raise the issue at the state assembly because it did not involve lawmaking.
“I am not against efforts for carbon trading if it is managed well and transparently but unfortunately, I am perplexed why this matter was never even brought to the assembly,” Wong said.
He added that any effort that changes the financial standing of the government must be discussed in the state assembly, adding even the supplement of food and apparels for next year is highlighted in the state budget 2022 booklet.
“What more about this mega deal which is going to involve hundreds of millions (of ringgit)?”.
Yesterday, state opposition leader Shafie Apdal likened the deal, known as the Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA), as “selling” land to foreigners and told the government to disclose its details in the current sitting.
The agreement, according to Sabah forestry authorities, will not allow exploitation of the state’s protected forests.
The NCA’s main objective, they said, was for the conservation and protection of rainforests through the monetisation of carbon stored in standing trees, in addition to natural capital benefits in the forest environment.
But despite the assurances by the state forestry department, Sabah NGOs continue to question the deal, particularly its lack of transparency. The agreement only came to light after the media broke the news about it.
Meanwhile, Wong also challenged chief minister Hajiji Noor to come clean on the issue of the Sabindo shop buildings in Tawau which has since been abandoned following a declaration by the federal court that they were illegal in 2017.
He said the court, in its ruling, also deemed the development plan submitted on Oct 13, 2004 and approved by the Tawau Municipal Council (TMC) on May 27 the following year as “invalid, illegal and unenforceable”.
He questioned how the parcels of land where the buildings sit on and which were supposed to be developed into an open carpark were instead turned into commercial shop lots in 2005 through a joint-venture between the TMC and the developer.
He said Hajiji, who is Sulaman assemblyman, was the state local government and housing minister from 2004 to 2018.
“Hence, I would like to ask the Sulaman rep, on what grounds were these parcels of lands to be developed (for commercial purposes) when they were meant for public use?
“How can this happen under his watch as the minister? Why was the development plan approved? Was the matter discussed in the cabinet and was it referred to the state attorney-general then and what was his advice?,” Wong asked.