6 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
No prospecting licence issued to Farhash-linked firm, says Sabah land dept
Sabah lands and surveys department director Bernard Liew said allegations claiming that Bumi Suria Sdn Bhd had been awarded a mineral prospecting licence in Sabah are baseless.
PETALING JAYA : The Sabah lands and surveys department maintains that no mineral prospecting licence had been issued to Bumi Suria Sdn Bhd, the company linked to businessman Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak.
The department's director, Bernard Liew, said no prospecting licence was awarded to the company under the Sabah Mining Ordinance 1960 and that allegations claiming otherwise were baseless.
He added that the department was the authoritative body governing mining in the Bornean state.
'Any mineral exploration activity in Sabah can only be conducted after obtaining a legitimate licence issued under Sections 6 and 8 of the Sabah Mining Ordinance.
'And this is subject to technical conditions and other relevant laws that are already in place. The department views seriously any statement made via the media that can mislead the public,' he said in a statement.
MalaysiaNow previously reported that Sabah Mineral Management Sdn Bhd (SMM) had awarded Bumi Suria an exploration licence for coal mining.
The report said it had been granted exclusive rights to explore and search for minerals on 70,000ha of forest reserve in Kalabakan and Gunung Rara near the Kalimantan border.
In a statement to FMT, SMM CEO Natasha Sim said the state government agency was not a licence-awarding body, nor did it have jurisdiction to award or issue licences.
On Monday, Farhash said his lawyers had served MalaysiaNow with a cease and desist letter, saying allegations that he owned Bumi Suria and that the company had been awarded a mineral prospecting or exploration licence in Sabah were false and defamatory.
The lawyers said Farhash was merely a director and shareholder of Bumi Suria, and demanded that the article be removed from the website and all social media channels.
