THAM HAD WANTED FMU UNDER KKIP

By: DATUK YONG TECK LEE

EX-DEPUTY Chief Minister cum Minister of Industrial Development, Tham Nyip Shen had claimed to be ignorant of the forest management units (FMUs) under the sustainable forest management.

After his lies in the media over the last one month, documents have since surfaced to my attention, so far, as follows:

1.1. A special briefing was given by the Forestry Department to Tham in his capacity as DCM/Minister of Industrial Development on 30 July 1999. This was after I had left the Cabinet (following the State general elections in March 1999).

2.2. Apparently, Tham wanted the briefing before he visited the World Bank to source for funds for the forestry sector in Sabah.

3.3. Subsequently, on 14 September 1999, Tham wrote to the federal Minister of Primary Industries (Dato Seri Lim Keng Yeik), International Trade and Industry (Dato Seri Rafidah Aziz), Second Finance Minister (Dato Mustapa Mohamed) and the Director General of Economic Planning Unit (Dato Dr. Samsudin Hitam). In these letters, Tham spoke favourably and glowingly of the FMUs. Tham was seeking the support of these federal ministers to source funds from World Bank and other international financial institutions.

4.4. I now recall that in fact Tham had asked me, when I was still Chief Minster, for a FMU to be allocated to a company under his control, the KKIP Forest Sdn. Bhd. I told him that KKIP means Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park. That park has no forest. He was offended. In any case, powers over forestry had already been transferred to the Cabinet in June 1996. I believe he was thinking that there was quick money to be made in FMUs and he wanted to be in it. But FMUs are not short term quick profits. They are long term investments for the next generation. Today’s news reports on Climate Change and Forestry in Sabah are self-explanatory. As Tham said in his letters of 14 September 1999, the gestation period is long and conventional financing is hardly obtainable.

5.5. As collaboration on Tham’s abuse of KKIP on FMUs, another letter has surfaced, dated 7 October 1999 issued by KKIP Sdn. Bhd. to the World Bank. The letter was a reply to World Bank e-mail to nstham@sabahnet.my. NS Tham is Tham Nyip Shen.

Attached herewith:

(i) The four letters of 14 September 1999 by Tham,

(ii) Cover Page of the special briefing dated 30 July 1999,

(iii) Copy of the KKIP letter of 7 October 1999.

In actual fact, Tham was a full, active, participating, senior member of the Cabinet from 1994 to 1999. He was also present in the briefing on sustainable forest management policies to Cabinet in September 1997. The disclosures above show that Tham is dishonest, malicious and has ulterior motives in defaming me.

(NOTE: Datuk Yong Teck Lee is Ex-Chief Minister 28 May 1996 to 27 May 1998)