Sabah Water Dept officials suspended
KOTA KINABALU: Two top officials of the Sabah Water Department have been suspended from their duties amid the ongoing graft investigations into alleged misuse of the RM3.3bil federal water projects since 2010.
The notices of suspension have been issued by the State Public Service Commission to both the Sabah Water Department director and the deputy director, said State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman.
“The suspensions for the director and deputy director are effective as of Oct 5 following their arrests on Oct 4,” he said in a statement.
Both are barred from entering the State Water Department office or any other department premises.
“The two are also not allowed to leave the state during this period of the investigation,” he said in the statement that comes after a call from Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) Sabah director Datuk Shaharom Nizam Abdul advising the state to put the two on a “rest or take leave” pending the completion of the investigations.
The 54-year-old director and his 52-year-old deputy were both released on MACC bail of RM500,000 with sureties each on Sunday and yesterday respectively.
The alleged hanky panky in the water contracts is one of the biggest corruption investigations case in the country with MACC seizing over RM190mil, including some RM57mil in cash, following the arrests of the duo on Oct 4.
The director was released after a 12-day remand expired on Sunday while his deputy was released yesterday after being questioned for two weeks.
Earlier yesterday, the deputy director’s elder brother, a 55-year-old businessman with a Datuk title, was also released on RM500,000 bail with two sureties, while his 50-year-old company accountant was released on RM50,000 bail with two sureties.
MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Azam Baki confirmed the release of the three suspects and said they were required to report to the commission every month.
A 62-year-old State Finance Ministry adviser for technical and engineering matters remains under custody to facilitate further investigations into the case.
More than 80 witnesses have had their statements recorded following the arrest of the two top officials.
This included three department employees who “voluntarily” surrendered about RM1mil allegedly taken in the process of approving water projects under the RM3.3bil Federal allocations.
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