Malaysia Corruption Watch president Jais Abdul Karim said Tei’s excuse that he had paid money to certain individuals on grounds that he wanted to break into the mining sector was unacceptable.
Jais said Tei’s admission, made during a recent podcast, also meant he could not be labelled an anti-graft hero.
He said if Tei really wanted to do business legally, he should not have bribed anyone.
Nor could he cite the purported “systematic corruption” in Sabah, as standard procedures are in place for lodging complaints with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
“If he was really under pressure (to bribe someone), he could have refused and lodged a report. Integrity doesn’t come about after greasing palms.
“A hero isn’t someone who fights the system only because he did not get what he wanted,” he told FMT, referring to Tei’s declaration that if the money he had paid to certain individuals was returned, he would consider the case “settled”.
In the Perspective Podcast aired last week, Tel claimed that he had paid off several individuals to facilitate his applications for mineral mining licences, only for the funds to be labelled as political donations.
He also said he was prepared to “shut up” if the RM8 million he claims to have paid out was returned, adding that he wanted to play “the hero who rectifies a broken administrative system”.
Last month, Malaysiakini published screenshots of an alleged WhatsApp conversation between Tei and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president Jeffrey Kitingan, alleging that Kitingan had received RM1.78 million from the businessman.
In the published messages, Tei appeared to be urging Kitingan to ensure that chief minister Hajiji Noor did not interfere with his company’s silica sand mining operations, referring to the project as their “piggy bank”.
Jais reprimanded Tei for talking about the issue on social media amid ongoing court cases involving him and two former assemblymen.
In June, former Tanjung Batu assemblyman Andi Suryady Bandy and former Sindumin assemblyman Dr Yusof Yacob were charged with receiving RM150,000 and RM200,000 in bribes, respectively.
Tei was charged with two counts of giving bribes.
All three claimed trial.
Jais said Tei’s revelations during the podcast were “risky” and could be construed as an attempt to push certain narratives in his defence, as the statements he made could be used in court.
“A podcast is not a courthouse,” he said.
He said that with the Sabah election around the corner, Tei’s appearance on the podcast could have been orchestrated to help push certain anti-establishment narratives.
“Such narratives will give certain quarters an edge,” he said.