Sabah attorney-general (AG) Nor Asiah Yusof said the state government had no issues with the deal between the state government and Hoch Standard Pte Ltd, provided that all requirements were fulfilled, reported the Malay Mail.

“We are still in the midst of discussions,” she told reporters at an event in Kota Kinabalu when asked if the highly publicised deal, known as the Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA), will proceed.

Earlier today, Kitingan reiterated that the process had begun, as the deal was now “settled”.

“That has been settled. Everything is moving forward. Things have been overtaken by events. We all are now working together,” he said when asked about any revisions to the NCA.

He also said “it is not an issue” when asked further whether the agreement had met all requirements set by the AG.

In February last year, Nor Asiah said the NCA, which was inked in October 2021, was a non-binding framework agreement that was subject to, among others, due diligence to the satisfaction of the state AG and Cabinet.

Kitingan has since dismissed her remarks and claimed that hidden hands were trying to sabotage the deal.

The Sabah AG’s office issued the statement following news reports by domestic and international media outlets, including Al Jazeera, over the NCA.

Critics, including the state opposition, conservation activists and business stakeholders, had criticised it due to its lack of transparency, ranging from the credibility of the third-party firm, Hoch Standard, as well as fear that land will be lost to foreigners as a result of the deal.