KUALA LUMPUR: A letter of demand (LOD) has been sent to Bersatu member Badrul Hisham Shaharin (Chegubard), from Natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, over corruption practices involving a flood mitigation plan worth more than RM16 billion.
In a statement, Nik Nazmi said his lawyer issued the LOD to Chegubard yesterday, demanding an immediate retraction and a public apology for the allegations related to the river basin transformation (RTB) flood alleviation project.
"The gravity of these false accusations necessitates strong legal action to protect my reputation, the ministry, and the federal government.
"We welcome any police investigation into Chegubard's claims," he said.
He added that the upcoming legal proceedings would unfold the ministry's dedication to transparency and adherence to the legal process.
Last Thursday, Nik Nazmi said he would initiate legal action against Chegubard for claiming that the RTB project, costing up to RM16.6 billion, is laced in corruption.
The day before, Chegubard lodged a police report, alleging millions in kickbacks for securing flood mitigation projects leading to a significant increase in costs.
Chegubard also claimed that a company registered as a cosmetic company has allegedly doubled up as a flood mitigation consultant siphoning millions of ringgit from an RM16 billion government flood mitigation project meant to address the flooding issue nationwide.
He added that no open tenders were made for the project, and names of companies awarded were also pre-selected, with commission terms of as high as eight per cent to be given as consultancy fees to the law firms.