Two education officers remanded for corruption probe

KOTA KINABALU (Oct 26): Two education office officials have been remanded for four days, starting on Saturday, to assist in the investigation into alleged corruption regarding the appointment of suppliers for raw materials in school maintenance and repair projects around Kudat worth about RM600,000.

The remand order was issued by senior assistant registrar Dzul Elmy Yunus at the Magistrate’s Court here on Saturday.

The two individuals, a man and a woman in their 40s, were arrested at 3pm on Friday when they turned up at the Sabah Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office to have their statements recorded.

Sabah MACC director Datuk S Karunanithy when contacted confirmed the arrest and said the case was being investigated under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009.

According to a source, the two suspects were believed to have received bribes between 2023 and this year, with the money deposited into bank accounts belonging to their proxy.

They are believed to have accepted the bribes in return for colluding to appoint several suppliers in the procurement of direct purchases and quotations for the supply of raw materials for the maintenance and repair of schools in the district.

The sources added the arrests were a follow up of the detention of a businessman for submitting claims containing false details to a district education office in Sabah involving the supply of raw materials for the maintenance and repair of schools worth approximately RM45,000.

Recently, Kudat member of parliament Datuk Verdon Bahanda revealed the issue of a cartel misappropriating school funds involving the Kudat District Education Office during a speech on the 2025 Budget policy debate in Parliament and urged the MACC to conduct an investigation.