Revealed: Audio clip of SMM meeting awarding Farhash-linked firm mineral exploration licence for 70,000ha plot in Sabah

Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor voiced strong support for a company linked to former PKR leader Farhash Wafa Salvador in a meeting to discuss applications for mineral exploration activities in the state, according to an audio clip given to MalaysiaNow. 

The clip (click here for YouTube or TikTok version) contained a series of excerpts from the meeting in May 2024 which lasted more than two hours, involving the board of Sabah Mineral Management (SMM), the state agency responsible for mineral wealth in Sabah, and chaired by Hajiji.

Of particular note is an admission in the recording that the area approved for Bumi Suria was "too big". 

"But the area is too big, Datuk Seri, 70,000 hectares," state secretary Safar Untong is heard saying.

"Yes, we will get to that later. The important thing is that we approve its application," Hajiji replied in the meeting attended by 18 people, including several executives from an Indonesian mining giant.

On Monday, MalaysiaNow revealed that SMM had approved an application involving a forest reserve area measuring 70,000 ha – three times the area of Kuala Lumpur – by Bumi Suria Sdn Bhd, a company controlled by Farhash and another individual named Aminuddin Mustapha.

Bumi Suria is wholly owned by Borneo Bumi Sdn Bhd, which in turn is wholly owned by Farhash and Amin, who share shares on a 50/50 basis.

Companies Commission of Malaysia records show they were appointed as directors of Borneo Bumi on May 2, 2024, and as directors of Bumi Suria on May 7, 2024. 

At the time, Bumi Suria, which had entered into a joint venture with PT Bayan Resources – the Indonesian mining giant owned by tycoon and "coal king" Low Tuck Kwong – was still in the process of appealing the cancellation of its exploration licence. 

Hajiji had abruptly cancelled the licence without giving reason in early 2024, five months before Farhash and Amin entered the picture. 

On May 14, a meeting of SMM unanimously withdrew the cancellation – a move that came a week after Farhash and Amin became involved in Bumi Suria. 

SMM chief executive officer Natasha Sim, who as the chief strategy officer at that time had also managed the May 14 meeting, denied approving an exploration licence for Bumi Suria or any company related to Farhash.

According to news portal Malaysiakini, Sim herself became "embroiled in controversy" following the circulation of a picture showing her with Sabah timber tycoon Elbert Lim in front of a private jet said to belong to an Indonesian coal tycoon.

Apology denied

Farhash meanwhile labelled MalaysiaNow's expose as fake news. 

Farhash, the former political secretary to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, also threatened to take legal action against MalaysiaNow if it did not retract its report and issue an apology. 

"Neither our client nor Bumi Suria Sdn Bhd has ever been awarded any mineral prospecting or exploration licence in Sabah," said a letter from Farhash's lawyers to MalaysiaNow. 

MalaysiaNow has however refused to retract its report. 

"The article referred to will remain published, as it constitutes fair and accurate reporting on matters of public interest, supported by credible and verifiable evidence.

"In view of the above, your client is at liberty to pursue whatever legal recourse he deems appropriate. Should he choose to commence legal proceedings, our client is fully prepared to contest the same vigorously," it said in its response to the lawyers' letter. 

Several video clips were recently revealed by businessman Albert Tei, showing Sabah state assemblymen discussing bribes ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of ringgit.

The recordings were published by Malaysiakini. 

Tei later asked for protection as a whistleblower so that he could lodge a formal complaint with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

His personal request to Anwar was turned down, prompting criticism from anti-graft activists.

MACC has so far brought graft charges against two Sabah assemblymen – Yusof Yacob and Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy – in addition to Tei himself.

The move has been slammed by critics who accuse the agency of selective prosecution and failing to go after the real "sharks" identified in the videos.