The man, in his 50s, was arrested after his statement was recorded at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office here at 10am today.

The suspect is alleged to have awarded the contract worth more than RM36,000 to a firm jointly owned by his wife and sister.

Sabah MACC chief S Karunanithy, who confirmed the arrest, said the man will be charged under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009 at the special corruption court here soon.

He said 13 headmasters and principals had been arrested and charged for graft since 2019. Two were found guilty and punished by the courts.

In light of the cases, he said, the MACC had organised briefings on the types of corruption offences linked to Sabah schools since 2019.

Meanwhile, in a separate case of abuse of power, Tawau MACC detained a government officer for approving his wife’s tender application for the purchase of a RM15,000 vehicle that his agency was planning to dispose of.

The man in his 40s was arrested at the MACC office at 9am today.