Sarawak CM Taib Mahmud will go when he wants to

Taib Mahmud has been chief minister for 32 years

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, 77, has hinted many times over the past few years that he may be stepping down soon.



But MPs from his Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) believe it may not be anytime in the near future and he will only step down when he decides on his successor.

"He has been indicating he wants to leave. It's a matter of time. He has said he's grooming successors," said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri.

The Batang Sadong MP, however, told The Star Online that Taib could serve for another three years, until the Sarawak state elections were held.


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MACC demands list of land Taib owns - from opposition MP

Just hours after an opposition member presented Parliament with a list of the land acquired in the timber-rich state by the family of Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, three officers of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) came a-calling.

They wanted that list.


"If I, an ordinary citizen, can get this information from the land office, why can't the MACC?" Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen (pic) demanded to know.

He is one of the Sarawak-based opposition MPs who have trained their sights on the chief minister but are finding him a constantly moving target. Chong was scathing as he questioned the inability of the MACC to strengthen its case against Taib and his family.

He pointed out that the MACC has a special taskforce of 10 investigators to probe the alleged corruption. "If the so-called 10-man probe team are doing their job, there is no reason why they should not have these documents," he said.


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Taib rejects 'Chinese Tsunami' reason for urban losses in GE13 Read more: Taib rejects 'Chinese Tsunami' reason for urban losses in GE13

Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) has rejected the main reason behind it losses in urban areas in the recent 13th general election due dwindling support of Chinese communities.

Sarawak Chief Minister and state BN chairman Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud

disagreed with the term "Chinese Tsunami" to describe the Chinese pattern of

voting favouring the opposition because BN's loss may be due to internal factors

rather that external factors.

"Based on the analysis of voters outside Kuching like Sarikei, Sibu and Miri

we lost by a small margin," he said at the community dinner conjunction with the eight anniversary of Miri City here tonight.

Referring to the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) losses in six out of

the seven parliamentary it contested in the 13th general election, he said,

there were encouraging signs that BN, particularly SUPP could regain the trust

of the voters especially outside Kuching City.

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Malaysia Sarawak’s RM4.9b bonds banker Goldman Sachs facilitating corruption, says Global Witness

Taib was cast into the international spotlight after Global Witness released a video documentary alleging the state Barisan Nasional chief to have received millions of ringgit in kickbacks over land deals


Goldman Sachs Inc has been flayed for underwriting RM4.87 billion (US$1.6 billion) in bonds for Sarawak’s energy corridor projects and ignoring alleged corruption in the East Malaysian state by activist group Global Witness.

However, the global investment banker has denied any mistakes in underwriting bonds for the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) project, which won it the ‘Bank of the Year 2012’ award by International Financing Review Asia for “breaking with tradition to win new business in difficult conditions”.

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GE13: Muhammad Taib to join us, says PAS leader

Former Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib (pic) is expected to join PAS this week, according to a senior PAS leader.

“Yes, Muhammad is joining us.“This is pretty significant for us, a shot-in-the-arm despite his past sins of omission and commission,” he told news portal.“He just wants to see changes in the elections,” said the leader, who declined to be named.

He added that he was made to understand that Muhammad had filled up the nomination form and an announcement was expected soon.

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Taib Mahmud: MACC doesn’t deserve my co-operation

Taib arriving for the BN meeting in Kuala Lumpur today.

Hit by graft allegations, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said today he will not co-operate with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as he believes the government body to be “naughty” and “dishonest” in its investigations.

The long-serving Sarawak chief minister was cast into the international spotlight last month after an environmental activist group released a video documentary alleging the state Barisan Nasional chief to have received millions of ringgit in kickbacks over land deals that have denuded the Borneo state.

“They don’t deserve my co-operation because they have been naughty... and they have not been honest,” Taib told reporters after attending a Barisan Nasional leadership meeting here.

Taib said he was not afraid of being investigated by the anti-graft body.

“Let them victimise me... I am not scared”

Dayak businessmen up in arms over Sarawak video expose

Screenshot of one of the scenes in the video clip as released by London-based activist group Global Witness.

Sarawak's Dayak corporate chiefs are reportedly seething with rage over a video exposing racist remarks by some prominent state personalities with close government links and want Putrajaya to address their economic woes.

The Borneo Post Online reported today the video, produced by UK-based environmental campaigner Global Witness, was the hottest debate topic at the Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (DCCI) annual general meeting in Kuching yesterday.

According to the news portal, DCCI members took offense at the views voiced by two lawyers and cousins to Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud which were seen to demean the indigenous tribes described in the video as "squatters" on state property in the expose on endemic corruption over land deals in Malaysia's largest state.

Lawyers in Taib video expose to face police probe, answer misconduct charges

Two lawyers secretly recorded in a covert video on shady land deals involving cousins of Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud will face an inquiry and a criminal investigation for possible misconduct after the Advocates' Association of Sarawak (AAS) lodged a complaint with the police in Kuching today.

The duo, identified as Alvin Chong and Huang Lung Ong, were shown separately in a video released by London-based activist group Global Witness as proof of shady land deals in Sarawak that appeared to implicate the state’s chief minister and his family, with parts of the clip aired on the Al-Jazeera news channel on Tuesday.

In a covert investigation, Global Witness (GW) captured on video dealings with Taib’s cousins and several other intermediaries to acquire thousands of hectares of forest land that the London-based activist said revealed the systematic corruption and illegality that lay at the heart of Malaysia’s biggest state.

London-based activist group Global Witness’ video appears to implicate the state’s chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud (above) and his family, with parts of the clip aired on the Al-Jazeera news channel.

Taib: No secret Swiss bank account

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud today denied that he has a secret bank account in Switzerland.

In a personal statement read out in the State legislative assembly, he said: “Let me state categorically that I have no secret Swiss bank account, nor assets or investments of any description in Switzerland."

He said he had to explain to the august house because the allegations by Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) that he had a secret account was a falsehood against the state government and him.

“As head of the state government and a member of the legislature, in keeping with the parliamentary practice and tradition, I am accountable to this august house.

“Therefore, it is only proper and right for me to make a personal statement to this august house in accordance of Standing Order 22 on the allegations by BMF, a foreign NGO (non-government organisation) not at all accountable to the people of Sarawak,” he said.

BMF, a western-based NGO, had alleged that Taib had kept his ill-gotten wealth in a Swiss bank.

EC spent RM50mil for Sarawak state election

The Election Commission spent RM50mil to conduct the 10th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Election in April.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, said as for the other ministries and agencies, the expenditure was according to the estimated budget set by the respective ministries and agencies.

Mohamad Nazri said this in his written reply to a question by Teo Nie Ching (DAP-Serdang) at the Dewan Rakyat, here Monday.

Teo had enquired about the expenditure incurred by the government in the recently concluded Sarawak State Election.

Taib's son divorces wife of 19 years

Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, the eldest son of the Sarawak chief minister, has divorced his wife of 19 years.

He pronounced the talak satu (declaration of divorce) this morning before Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court judge Mohamad Abdullah.

Anwar: S'wak shadow cabinet not finalised

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim today clarified that Pakatan Rakyat's shadow cabinet line up in Sarawak has not been finalised.

Anwar said that the reported 16-member line up announced by DAP on May 1 was merely the latter's proposal.

S'wak PKR to focus on winnable seats only

Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian said the party will focus only on a few winnable seats in the coming parliamentary election, rather than contest all the remaining seats in the state that the other Pakatan member parties won't take on.

He was responding to criticism that the multi-racial party had been "too greedy" by contesting as many as 49 seats in the recent state election, in which it won only three seats

Federal Court hears S'wak natives' landmark case

The Federal Court today heard submissions by a indigenous group from Sarawak challenging the Sarawak Land Code, used to acquire their native customary rights (NCR) land.

This is considered a historic test case as the outcome would affect hundreds of suits brought by Sarawak's indigenous people against the Sarawak government and private companies.

A three-member panel led by justice Ariffin Zakaria presided over the case, involving two separate cases being heard concurrently.

Taib’s win blocking BN’s Sarawak reforms, says analyst

Taib’s continued stay is straining ties between Kuching and Putrajaya.


Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s prevalence in Sarawak will likely add further strain to federal-state ties as the Najib administration continues to face the dilemma of the Chief Minister’s extended stay in power, an analyst here predicted.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) lecturer Dr Faisal Syam Hazis told a forum last night that Taib’s thumping victory meant it was unlikely that the strongman would bow out from politics before the next general election is called.

But Taib’s continued cling to power, he said, would only serve to hamper any plans by the federal Barisan Nasional (BN) to rebrand its Sarawak leadership in preparation for national polls, which has to be called in 2013.

“There is going to be a serious strain in the federal and state relations. There is this resounding call for Taib to step down but Taib, fresh from winning his two-thirds majority during the state polls, would have a good reason to stay on,” he said at the forum, organised by Merdeka Center at the Hilton Hotel.

Sarawak Villagers saw off bridge in log protest

Tebedu villagers, unhappy with their headman for signing an agreement with a logging company without their knowledge, demolishing a bridge on an access road constructed by the company to stop it from gaining access to their land.


Armed with hoes and a chainsaw, villagers from five Bidayuh villages close to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border in Tebedu, 150km from here, staged their own Easter "uprising" yesterday by toiling the whole day to demolish a wooden bridge on an access road constructed by a logging company to stop the company from gaining access to their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land to extract logs there.

PAS president not to blame for S'wak losses

PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali said it was unfair for certain media to blame party president Abdul Hadi Awang for the party's failure to win any seats in Sarawak, as it is the party's collective responsibility.

SNAP not keen to merge with DAP

Sarawak National Party (SNAP) is not keen to merge with the DAP, its secretary-general Stanley Jugol said today.

“We are not excited at the suggestion by DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang for the two parties to merge,” he said when asked to comment on Lim’s suggestion on Tuesday.

He said he and other SNAP leaders were surprised with Lim’s comments as the DAP had not cooperated with SNAP in the just-concluded state election.

“They campaigned against our candidates. So, if they wanted to merge with us, they should have been nice to us during the election,” he said.

Jugol said neither Lim nor any other DAP leader had called to discuss the proposal. “The only calls we ever received were from reporters who wanted to get our reaction on the suggestion.”

MCA says Taib should quit, after losing Chinese backing

The Sarawak chief minister is in his seventh term in office

MCA vice president Gan Ping Sieu wants Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to quit as Sarawak chief minister as he has lost the support of the Chinese community there.

Taib, who leads Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN), helped the ruling coalition win 55 out of 71 state seats — or 77 per cent of the legislative assembly — in the recently concluded Sarawak state election.

His party, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), won all 35 seats it contested.

But PBB’s mainly Chinese partner, the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), suffered heavy losses to DAP in Chinese-majority seats even after MCA helped it campaign.

Sarawak’s oldest political party only managed to win six of the 19 seats contested, losing 12 of those to DAP. Even its president and deputy chief minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan lost his seat to a DAP newcomer.

MCA reiterates call to SUPP to reject state Cabinet posts

The MCA has reiterated its call to the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) not to accept any state Cabinet posts following its rejection by the Chinese community in the state polls.

The party’s losses to DAP meant its role in the Sarawak state government was not valued, said MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

“The SUPP must listen to the Chinese community. The only way is to stay out of the Sarawak state government.

“The SUPP must ask whether there is any point in taking up posts if it is unable to carry out its work effectively,” she said, adding that the party was now perceived as weak.

In the state election, DAP grabbed 12 seats from the 19 contested by SUPP.

She said the SUPP could be accused of not representing the community if it chose to remain in the state government.

She added that it would now be better for the party to speak out from outside the state government while remaining in the Barisan Nasional.

Separately, MIC secretary-general S. Murugessan said that the Sarawak election results reflected the people’s confidence in Barisan Nasional.

He added that the slight drop in urban support for Barisan in Sarawak was worrying and action should be taken to win back support.