State agency officer among three arrested in bauxite mining corruption case

KUALA LUMPUR: A state agency officer was among three individuals arrested yesterday for allegedly accepting bribes to facilitate the illegal excavation of mineral resources believed to contain bauxite, bypassing proper procedures.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the other two arrested during a raid at Bukit Goh, Kuantan were company owners believed to have been protected by the officer since 2022.

“Investigations revealed that permission for excavation in Bukit Goh was only granted for resources mined before 2022. However, they also excavated newly discovered materials.

“To shield this activity, several operators involved in excavating the minerals paid bribes to the state agency officer,” he said in a statement today.

Azam said the bribes were intended to ensure protection and prevent enforcement action against the illegal operations. The MACC is currently working to determine the total amount of bribes involved.

In the operation, the MACC seized over RM26,000 in cash and three mobile phones from the suspects. The case is being investigated under Section 16 of the MACC Act 2009.

This morning, Magistrate Wahidah Zainal Abidin granted a six-day remand order until Nov 19 for the three male suspects, aged between 30 and 50, following an application by the MACC at the Kuantan Magistrate’s Court.

Azam said after the raid, MACC inspected a mineral storage site in Jabor, Terengganu, where further enforcement was carried out.

“At this location, five heavy machines, including four excavators and a shovel loader, along with seven lorries, including five dump trucks, were handed over to the Terengganu Land and Mines Office (PTG) for confiscation under Section 425 of the National Land Code 1965.

“Also, eight tipper dump trucks were seized under Section 82 of the Land Public Transport Act (APAD) 2010 and handed over to the Road Transport Department after inspections at a road junction in Gebeng revealed the vehicles were overloaded,” he said.