KOTA KINABALU, Oct 24 — The “whistleblower” of an alleged corruption case involving Sabah assemblymen has filed an application to cite caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor for contempt of court, alleging that the state’s immigration powers were used to block his entry and prevent him from attending his corruption trial.
Businessman Albert Tei Jiann Chieng, who is required to appear in court as part of his bail conditions, said Sabah Immigration officers had twice denied him entry into the state — on September 22 and October 23 — allegedly on orders from the Chief Minister’s Office.
In his affidavit, Tei argued that the directive amounted to a violation of his constitutional rights under Articles 5 and 8 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantee personal liberty, equality before the law and the right to legal representation.
Tei filed the ex parte application through his lawyers seeking leave under Order 52, Rule 3 of the Rules of Court 2012 to initiate committal proceedings against Hajiji for interfering with the administration of justice.
He claimed that the “not-to-land” order issued by Immigration demonstrated “a clear and deliberate disregard for the sanctity of the court”, and sought for Hajiji to be jailed or fined if found guilty of contempt, as well as to issue an unqualified apology to the court.
Sessions Court judge Jason Juga is expected to hear the contempt application on November 24.
Earlier, the same court rejected Tei’s lawyer Edward Paul’s application for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA), after the businessman failed to attend his pre-trial proceedings due to the travel restriction.
Judge Jason fixed November 28 for the next pre-trial case management (PTCM) and advised that Tei could apply to attend future mentions via Zoom.
He also instructed the prosecution to liaise with the Sabah Immigration Department to facilitate Tei’s entry for the trial.
Tei is facing two charges of offering bribes of RM150,000 and RM200,000 to Tanjung Batu assemblyman and Assistant Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Andi Suryady Bandy, and Sindumin assemblyman Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob respectively.
The alleged payments were linked to applications for mineral prospecting licences in Sabah. Both assemblymen have also been charged with receiving the bribes.
The case has reignited debate over Sabah’s immigration autonomy, enshrined under Section 66 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which grant the state authority to restrict entry of non-residents, including Malaysians from the peninsula.
In an earlier statement, Hajiji said the state government “has absolute authority to decide who can or cannot enter Sabah”.
Tei came to prominence after anonymously releasing a series of video recordings showing Sabah state assemblymen allegedly discussing bribes ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of ringgit, which were published by news portal Malaysiakini.
He later sought whistleblower protection to formally lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) but was turned down.
The videos released by Tei allegedly implicated more than a dozen state assemblymen, including deputy chief ministers, the finance minister and the State Assembly speaker.
