Viral letter from State AG Chamber questioning authenticity of company involved in NCA

1 Dec 2021

By Wartawan Nabalu News

KOTA KINABALU: A letter from State Attorney-General of Sabah Datuk Nor Asiah Yusof which questioned the authenticity of a Singaporean company that is involved in the Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA) with Sabah State Government has been circulated around online.

The letter dated today addressed to Dr Ho Choon Hou of Hoch Standard Pte Ltd mentioned that he was found to neither be the director nor shareholder of the company as claimed.

“This letter is to inform you that upon inquiry our Chambers has ascertained that you are neither a Director nor shareholder of Hoch Standard Pte Ltd (the 'said Company'), contrary to the representations made by you to the State Government of Sabah and upon which the latter relied.

“We also state that but for your representations as a director/shareholder of the said Company, the State Government would not have entered into the Agreement and as such the same is now rendered voidable for, among others, misrepresentation on your part.

“We also state that resultant from your misrepresentations as already stipulated, the purported Hoch Standard Pte Ltd letter to the Chief Minister dated the 22nd of October 2021 authorising Stan Lassa Golokin to sign the Agreement for the said Company is null, void and of no legal effect,” the letter stated.

It was also revealed that due to the company’s representations, it is now required to provide within 14 days the following:

1) Three years audited accounts for Hoch Standard Pte Ltd;

2) Evidence of funding and / or proof of funds sufficient to finance the Nature Conservation Management Plan (NCMP);

3) Evidence or proof of partnership and / or collaboration with Temasek Holdings, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Optimus Foundation (UBS);

4) Evidence of funding or proof of funding from UBS Group AG, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Barclays, Julius Baer, JP Morgan, Goldman Sach, Blackstone, Carlyle Group and / or KKR;

5) Letter of appointment in respect of Messrs. Peter & Kim and evidence that the said firm as 'UN-Compliant'; and

6) Evidence of collaboration with the following Scientific/Fintech Partners: Harvard University, MIT, Cornell, University of Queensland, Curtin University, Melbourne University and the Commonwealth Science and Independent Research Organisation (CSIRO).

“In the meantime, you are once again reminded that you are not to proceed or act upon the said Agreement in any way, including but not limited to, inviting third party investors, financiers or financial institutions to participate in terms of the Agreement. The State Government reserves all of it rights,” said the letter.

On Oct 30, the State Government and Hoch Standard signed the NCA which would see the company receive 30 per cent of the shared gross revenue.

The NCA will involve up to 2 million hectares of existing forested areas in Sabah.

It was reported that the company was set up only about two years ago with a paid-up capital of RM4,181 and without a proper commercial office in Singapore, of which Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan reasoned that a company can exist without offices and many staff in the digital age.