PKR reps in sand mining scandal pin blame on blogger-in-exile

(The Star) – Two Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen have scoffed at allegations of their role in a sand mining scandal, accusing instead blogger-in-exile Raja Petra Kamarudin of wanting to topple the Selangor Government.

Seri Muda assemblyman Shuhaimi Shafiei and Batu Caves assemblyman Amiruddin Shari admitted that they sat on the board of directors of Double Dignity (M) Sdn Bhd, a company which had been implicated by Raja Petra to have applied to mine sand.

However, they stressed that the company was not registered with Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB), which would only consider the registered ones for sand mining contracts.

“It is not possible for Double Dignity to get any sand mining contracts because it is not registered with (Selangor’s sole sand mining concessionaire) KSSB,” said Shuhaimi, who has also been a director of KSSB since May 2010.

Both Shuhaimi and Amiruddin held a press conference yesterday to deny allegations by Raja Petra in his blog on Thursday.

They challenged Raja Petra to provide evidence that Double Dignity had obtained logging or sand mining contracts, or plots of land.

Shuhaimi said Double Dignity only paid him a RM5,000 monthly allowance from June to December 2009 as its director.

The company, he said, stopped paying his fee after the Companies Commission of Malaysia started to investigate the company.

“I want to resign as a board member, but I want to do it using the proper channel when the board convenes a meeting,” he said.

However, Shuhaimi said he could not get in touch of the company’s owner and denied Raja Petra’s claim that he met the owner frequently.

He accused Raja Petra of working with Barisan Nasional.

“They make accusations to raise doubt and erode public confidence in Pakatan Rakyat,” said Shuhaimi.