Resource Robbery: Pairin and Hajiji

 The pattern of deploying prosecutorial, anti-corruption, and security apparatuses to enforce federal compliance and secure state resource concessions extends far beyond Harris, Musa, and Shafie. Whenever a Sabahan political administration attempts to assert state resource rights or break away from federal alignment, selective prosecution and state leverage are deployed to enforce political submission.

1. Joseph Pairin Kitingan & Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan (1990–1994)

The Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) administration under Pairin Kitingan provides a classic example of legal mechanisms being weaponized against state leaders seeking resource autonomy.

• The Trigger (1990): Days before the 1990 General Election, PBS pulled out of Barisan Nasional (BN). Pairin demanded a review of the 20-Point Agreement, an increase in petroleum royalties from 5% to 20%, the return of federal-controlled Sabah Foundation (Yayasan Sabah) timber revenues, and the establishment of a state university.
• Selective Corruption Charges (1991): In January 1991—months after the political break—Pairin was slapped with three corruption charges relating to timber concessions and municipal contracts. In January 1994, he was found guilty on one count and fined RM1,800. The fine was strategically calculated just below the RM2,000 constitutional threshold that would have disqualified him from office, keeping a legal "sword of Damocles" over his head. The remaining charges lay dormant for over a decade and were quietly withdrawn once PBS rejoined BN in 2002.
• ISA Detention of Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan: As Executive Director of the Sabah Foundation, Jeffrey Kitingan was targeted directly over the state’s timber wealth. In May 1991, he was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for nearly three years without trial under the pretext of an alleged "secession plot," alongside corruption investigations regarding timber export shipments.
• Resource Outcome: The continuous legal pressure, combined with federal funding freezes and engineered party defections, led to the collapse of the PBS government in 1994, successfully breaking Sabah’s push for a 20% oil royalty and full timber revenue retention.

2. Hajiji Noor & the GRS Mineral Mining Controversy (2024–2026)

The ongoing dynamics around Chief Minister Hajiji Noor and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) illustrate how the management of anti-corruption investigations maintains political leverage over state resource allocations.

• The Resource Domain: State management of critical mineral prospecting licenses (gold, coal, and industrial minerals) under state-owned Sabah Mineral Management Sdn Bhd (SMM).
• Selective Clearance vs. Whistleblower Prosecution: In late 2024, video recordings surfaced depicting several GRS state assemblymen allegedly discussing payments in exchange for mineral exploration licenses. While the whistleblower who leaked the recordings (Albert Tei) and selective assemblymen were charged with bribery, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) quickly cleared Hajiji of personal involvement.
• Political Leverage Mechanics: By selectively managing the scope of the investigation—holding criminal charges over individual assemblymen while clearing top executive leadership—the federal administration maintains enormous leverage over GRS. This dynamic ensures GRS's continued alignment with the central federal government, muting aggressive state demands over mineral rights, land approvals (such as large-scale coal exploration applications), or uncompromising litigation over the 40% federal revenue entitlement.

Whether through historical ISA detentions and targeted graft trials in the 1990s or modern selective MACC clearances and targeted indictments, the prosecutorial apparatus has consistently functioned as a tool to tame regional political elites. By keeping Sabahan leaders legally vulnerable, central authorities ensure that state leadership prioritizes political self-preservation over defending the state's resource sovereignty.