In a statement, Mandut pointed out that Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin had been slapped with corruption charges and should therefore resign.
“If Sabah Umno is calling for the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman to resign, their own chairman should also step down to enable a transparent and independent investigation into his alleged corruption.”
Bung is the Sabah Barisan Nasional chairman.
Last month, Bung said he would not entertain calls for him to step down as Sabah Umno chief over his corruption case and declared he would continue to lead the party’s state chapter.
The Kinabatangan MP was urged to resign after he and his wife, Zizie Izette Abdul Samad, were ordered to enter their defence on charges of corruption and abetment over a RM150 million Felcra investment.
Earlier today, Sabah Umno Youth called for Hajiji Noor to step down as chief minister following a mining scandal allegedly involving several assemblymen from the state.
The wing’s chief Sufian Abdul Karim said Hajiji, as chief minister and the person in charge of state affairs, must take full responsibility for the matter and step down to allow “an independent and transparent investigation to proceed without interference from the administration”.
Mandut, however, said Hajiji had repeatedly assured the public that the corruption allegations against certain assemblymen had been referred to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
MACC, Mandut said, was an independent body and Hajiji had pledged to give his full cooperation.
“Does Sufian doubt MACC’s credibility? Why demand the chief minister’s resignation when he has already committed to transparency?”
MACC is currently probing an alleged corruption case involving mineral project licences, with links to a businessman said to have had dealings with several Sabah assemblymen.
Earlier this evening, Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah Youth described as baseless a call for its president, Hajiji, to resign as chief minister over the alleged scandal, saying videos linked to the controversy did not implicate him in any way.