As Malaysia’s Sabah faces new bribery case, will it pay dividends for power seekers?

Reports of corruption at the highest levels are once again rattling Sabah, the politically fractured state on Malaysian Borneo, raising questions about who stands to gain from the scandal.

It started two weeks ago after a whistle-blower went to the local news portal Malaysiakini to share evidence of alleged corruption involving a “top leader” and a group of elected representatives of a state.

Days later, Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor emerged to say that he was aware that he was being accused of being the ringleader seeking hundreds of thousands of ringgit in bribes in exchange for support for a state project. However, he dismissed the speculation as “just accusations” and urged the authorities to “investigate the one giving the bribe”.

In a letter sent to Malaysia’s king Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, run in a later story by Malaysiakini, the whistle-blower – whose identity has been under wraps – admitted to offering the bribes, claiming “no choice” due to the fate of the project being determined by the individuals who were propositioned.

Before the admission, the whistle-blower had asked the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for a guarantee of immunity from prosecution in exchange for the provision of evidence. The whistle-blower also wrote to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim seeking protection.

All this came after the whistle-blower claimed to have received a death threat over the bribery revelation despite being unidentified.