Where The Shoe Pinces

Hantu Laut

It is more a "siok sendiri" poll,  the reliability of the survey remained doubtful.

Is there a reputable agency that audit Merdeka's opinion poll survey? The results of its surveys have never been audited and authenticated for it margin of error, its samples and confidence intervals.

Some poll can be deliberately engineered by unscrupulous  pollsters to generate certain result thus making its questionable.

A recent poll conducted by the agency claimed that Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman popularity had declined to 45 percent and Prime Minister Najib popularity remained high in Sabah at 75 percent.

Any intelligent Sabahan who follow Sabah politics would immediately know the opinion poll is self-serving and one that also serves the opposition as well as some Sabah UMNO warlords who wanted to get rid of Musa by giving Najib the false impression that UMNO can win in Sabah without Musa. Someone in Sabah UMNO wanted Musa's job badly.

In any war the enemy always sought to eliminate the best general in order to demoralise his force. It is the same in politics using character assassinations to demonise leader who is seen likely to lead his party to victory is common place throughout the world.

Barack Obama went through the same hell mudslinging when he ran for the US president in 2008, accused of being a Muslim because of his middle name.


Watch carefully the voice over, the bad editing and cut and paste of the video.

In spite of the many attempts at muddying the waters on Obama the American people stood steadfastly behind him and chose him as the next president of the United States. 

The same dirty campaigning is happening in Malaysia to denigrate Prime Minister Najib, Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud. The three are seen as the biggest roadblocks hindering the opposition's journey to Putrajaya. 

Suaram, the tool of the opposition and those who wanted Najib out of office has been caught in a web of deceit on the Scorpene submarine investigation.A French government prosecutor Yves Charpernel has denied of any ongoing trial in France as depicted by Suaram to the Malaysian public. Suaram and its two French lawyers, out of shame having been caught lying, still insisted that such court proceeding was ongoing. 

Who would you want to believe, a government prosecutor or two street smart lawyers?

There is concerted effort by the oppositions to eliminate the two East Malaysian leaders, Taib Mahmud and Musa Aman, both most likely to lead the BN to victory in their respective states where the oppositions are still fragmented and have not come to terms with each other to mount a challenge on BN grip on the two states.

Both Musa and Taib are political strategists that have the ability to outmaneuver their opponents and proved their detractors wrong. The Sarawak Report, a blog based in the UK, founded and controlled by one Clare Rewcastle Brown, the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has both Taib and Musa are constantly on her radar and is on the permanent hit list with gory tales of corruptions, abuses of power and even murder. Sarawak Report estimated Taib to be worth more than  US$15 billion.  

Robert Kuok the richest man in Malaysia amassed his wealth for almost two generations is only worth RM45.7 billion in 2012 and at today's exchange rate that would be about US$15 billion, the same as Taib. 

The Musa and Taib haters are having a field day with their tales from the crypt why these two men should go to the grave. Some even predicted that Anwar's PKR would take a leading role in Sabah politics. That's, maybe, a bridge too far. Taking in a few "orang kecewah" may be good politics few decades ago, it is not now, Sabahans are getting sick of such political misconduct.

Just before the March 2008 General Elections, 5 out 10 people I talked to predicted the political demise of Musa Aman and the end of BN in Sabah. The same are being said now by the same people who had never got their political predictions right. The same people also predicted Yong Teck Lee would win big in the Batu Sapi by-election. Yong, who refused to give way to Pakatan candidate for a one to one fight against the BN was buggered by DAP and lost badly. Pakatan/PKR's candidate Ansari Abdullah fared much better than him because DAP's Chinese supporters voted for Ansari. 

The only opposition party, as I have always said in this blog, that will make inroads in Sabah is DAP, who would do well in Chinese predominant constituencies, but not enough to pull the rug from under the BN's feet. The rest may have to fight, tooth and nail,  to win 1 or 2 seats.

Najib is smart not to be influenced by such talk and opinion poll to remove Taib and Musa from the equation.

In Sabah politics, money speaks louder than words.

Phnom Penh

Malaysia's Mahathir Defends Sarawak Chieftain

Charges of looting Sarawak could just be electioneering, he says

Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has defended Sarawak’s embattled chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud, questioning calls by international NGOs for investigations of Taib’s vast fortune.

"When an election is near, you get funny things like this coming out," Mahathir told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. "If it is just a political game to try and undermine somebody's political image then I think it is not right."

If the allegations are true, the 86-year-old Mahathir said, the authorities could be expected to take action. In May, Swiss authorities announced they were investigating accounts held in Swiss banks by the Taib family for evidence of corruption. Shortly after that, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission announced it would also investigate Taib’s holdings, although observers in Kuala Lumpur said it was unlikely that the MACC would follow through, Indeed, one source told Asia Sentinel recently that the investigation had “gone cold.” A Taib spokesman said the funds had been legitimately deposited and that there was no evidence of criminality.

Many political observers expect Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to call national elections in the early part of 2012, possibly in March. Sarawak, the country’s largest state, is key to efforts by the Barisan Nasional, the country’s ruling national coalition, to maintain a healthy majority in parliament. Both Najib and Mahathir earlier this year reportedly tried to dissuade the scandal-ridden chief minister to quit before state elections.

When Taib refused to step down, both had to criss-cross the state, campaigning for Taib’s coalition. However, the coalition produced a two-thirds majority in the state assembly. Although he had publicly offered to step down, the magnitude of the victory impelled him to stay in power.

Mahathir’s defense of Taib was generated by the fact that on Tuesday, NGOs from six different countries issued a joint letter demanding that Malaysia’s sultan appoint a royal commission of inquiry and that authorities arrest and prosecute Taib and 13 members of his family for massive fraud, theft, corruption, illegal appropriation of land and abuse of public office. They allege that the looting of Sarawak’s rich timber and other natural resources has earned Taib’s family billions of US dollars through investment in as many as 400 companies in 25 countries.

They also demanded that a multi-agency task force be appointed to attempt to repatriate the vast sums from other countries to the people of Sarawak.

Research released earlier this month by the Switzerland-based Bruno Manser Fund said official documents show the Taib family stake in 14 Malaysian companies alone is worth US$1.46 billion. The fund has uploaded all of the documents onto the Internet. They can be found here. Billions more are believed to be held in other countries.

The fund said its research only covers publicly available information from Malaysia’s Registry of Companies and other official documents and the total of all of the Taib family’s holdings could run well in excess of that amount.

“Not counting their more hidden wealth, this puts the Taib family firmly into the category of one of the richest families in the world and makes them far richer than the Queen of England (whose assets are a mere half billion pounds),” the fund said.

In all, according to the fund, named for a Swiss environmentalist who disappeared in Sarawak in 2000 while trying to aid the Penan tribe, the family also has stakes in companies in Australia (22 companies), Bermuda (1), the British Virgin Islands (7), Brunei (1), Cambodia (1), Canada (9), the Cayman Islands (1), Fiji (3), Hong Kong (7), India (2), Indonesia (3), Jersey (1), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1), Labuan (1), New Zealand (5), the People’s Republic of China (2), the Philippines (1), Singapore (2), Sri Lanka (1), Thailand (2), the United Arab Emirates (1), the United Kingdom (4), the United States of America (6) and Vietnam (1).

Allegations are that as chief minister, Taib granted timber access permits to a plethora of companies, most of them owned by ethnic Chinese, that denuded much of the state of its tropical rainforest. The two NGOs previously reported that Taib's children are the shareholders and directors of numerous companies controlling residential and commercial buildings in Canada, Australia, Britain and the United States together worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. Many of the assets came into their possession when they were in their early 20s and were still college students with no visible access to legitimate resources to invest.

Taib has been chief minister, finance minister and planning and resources management minister of since 1981 and he hardly conceals his vast wealth, riding around the capital of Kuching in a cream-colored Rolls-Royce sedan.

Taib, his four children, eight siblings and his first cousin Hamed bin Sepawi have stakes in 332 companies worth several billion US dollars in Malaysia, the report says. “The Taib family’s share in 14 large companies’ net assets alone has been calculated at US$1.46 billion (RM4.6 billion). The three largest Taib family-linked companies are the 84 percent Taib-owned Cahya Mata Sarawak (net assets RM2.4 billion), the 25 percent Taib-owned Custodev Sdn Bhd (net assets RM1.6 billion) and the at least 35 percent Taib-owned Ta Ann Holdings Bhd (net assets: RM1.4 billion). Read more.

Tipu !

Hantu Laut

My darts on the results of the Sarawak state elections was closed to the bull's-eye.My earlier prediction of Taib winning his seat and the BN retaining its two-thirds majority was not far-fetched either.

I expect SNAP to pick up 1 or 2 seats. Obviously, the party have lost all credibility with the electorate.Almost all its candidates have lost their deposits.

I gave DAP 8 to 10 seats but they did better than that, capturing 12 seats comfortably.The large crowds at its rally did translate into votes and is the only party among the coalition partners that have made significant inroads into Sarawak politics.

PAS, who do not know between East and West, got their heads in the mincer..... zero as predicted.

Worst of the lot was PKR.Greedy and zealously over estimated its own strength. Even with Anwar confidently saying that Pakatan led by PKR can pull it off and take over the state government, as in his usual body of lies, could only garner 3 seats and that's with the help of DAP. His party performance was shamefully dismal, winning only 3 seats out of 49 or so seats contested.

Taib has proven the doomsayers wrong.He may be the most corrupted chief minister but he has managed to wag the dog on the corruption issue and got himself re-elected with resounding majority.

Obviously, Anwar and Pakatan's dirty war against Taib failed miserably.

Now, the accusations of 'tipu' would commence shortly by Anwar and his gang with claims of vote rigging, votes buying and litany of other election misdemeanors by BN.But let us ask how could DAP have won so many seats if there were cheatings by the ruling coalition?

Najib Can Deal With Taib After The Elections

Hantu Laut

Taib Mahmud is suffering from delusion of grandeur.Sarawakians should not fear that Taib would still be running the state after the elections.

There is a recipe for this 75-year old recalcitrant and I believe Prime Minister Najib should not hesitate to give it to him. I hope he would do so for the sake of the people of Sarawak.

Taib refusal to step down had caused much anguish and uncertainty to the people of Sarawak.He must have heard the widespread voices of dissent against his continuing leadership but he chose to ignore it.

Whether the call for his exit is as widespread as the oppositions made it out to be is hard to tell.Putting that aside, even if BN win comfortably he still should go.

Without any doubt he and his family had treated Sarawak as their personal fiefdom and taken indiscretion to the bounties of the state with impunity.He has shown total disregard to the Prime Minister by ignoring the appeal for him to step down.He was given a way out but refused because of his arrogance and probable family pressure to stay on so as to protect the business empire that is so vast it begets the question on the integrity of its acquisition.

This is the man who also "bit the hand that fed him" and fought against his uncle and benefactor Abdul Rahman Yakub who raised him since he was a boy.

He sailed through and survived the "Ming Court Affair" but he may not survive this one if BN failed to secure the two-thirds majority and if he lost significant number of votes in his own constituency.

The Prime Minister, who would not say it now, can deal with Taib after the elections.He may have no choice but to step down or face the music, or both.

Can BN keep Sarawak? - Next

Sarawak Watch: Salleh The Giant Killer ?

Hantu Laut

A Dayak and his Manok Sabong.Guess how he is going to vote?

I know Salleh Jafaruddin briefly when he was Deputy Federal Minister of Education in the early eighties and had the privilege of being invited, several times, to his house in Kuala Lumpur, a huge luxury mansion atop Kenny Hills where the wealthy resided those days.Now, Kuala Lumpur has more posh addresses.

An affable man with charming personality he was Sarawak's rising star then and led an opulent and sybaritic lifestyle. With Sarawak's political reward system money was no object as long as one toe the line.However, Salleh's political fortune was destined to take a wrong turn.

In 1983, the Governor Abdul Rahman Yakub's open animosity with his nephew, Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud led him to attack Taib in a speech he delivered at the opening ceremony of Bintulu port over claims of Taib sidelining the interests of bumiputras.

The bitter dispute with Taib over allocation of timber rights eventually led Rahman to form a new party called Permas to challenge Taib at the polls.Much in a hurry as the polls was still a distance away Rahman organised a slapdash power takeover.

In March 1987, out of the blue that surprised many, 27 of the 48 state assemblymen directed their support to Rahman and called on Taib to resign as chief minister. Overly ambitious and underestimating the might of Taib was the flamboyant Salleh Jafaruddin who joined the hare-brained coup orchestrated by Rahman to topple Taib.The gathering was at Ming Court, Kuala Lumpur in March 1987 and was known as "The Ming Court Affair"

Abdul Rahman and some Malay leaders in PBB were unhappy with Taib neglecting the interests of bumiputras or rather neglecting his demands for more forest concessions for himself and his cronies....he claimed the Bidayuhs, Iban, Melanaus and Malays were sidelined in favour of the Chinese. Huge tracts of land, forest concessions and projects were given to SUPP and the Chinese.SUPP was the darling of Taib's regime then and I guess still is.

SUPP political fortunes may change on April 16 2011 that may see the political demise of many of its representatives.DAP stands to profit from SUPP's decline and may take significant urban seats.Taib's courtship with those Chinese towkays made wealthy by him have not endeared him to the Chinese community.Unlike the bumiputras, majority of Chinese are not dependent on political handouts.

The coup failed and Taib prevailed. Salleh and all those involved were chastised by Taib who quickly closed the taps on them, drying out Salleh and the other conspirators of finances.The debacle broke Salleh's pocket that sent him off to political wilderness.

In retaliation, Taib also cancelled 30 timber licences held by his defectors and Rahman's clients, one of which was an area sold by Rahman to Sabah businessman Majid Khan who paid for the concession and was left in the lurch with the vanquish of the once powerful Rahman.As they say the rest is history.

Can Salleh dethrone Taib? Would he be the giant killer?

There is talk of PKR wanting to pull out their candidate to allow for a straight fight between Taib and Salleh, a tussle between two cousins.

Taib has a huge war chest and the government machinery at his disposal which in Malaysian politics gave him the edge over his opponent.

Salleh's impecuniousness and past reputation would make it an uphill battle for him to unseat Taib.

Malaysia is no Tunisia or Egypt, there would not be any people's power.More often than not, it is money power that would buy you a place into the august house.

Sarawakians:"Don't Throw The Baby Out With The Bath Water"

Hantu Laut

The battle for Sarawak starts today.At the close of nomination on 6th April there were 213 candidates vying for 71 state constituencies. The ruling party, as tradition would dictate, fielded candidates in all 71 state seats.

The West Malaysian oppositions coalition Pakatan Rakyat are contesting in 68 seats led by overly ambitious PKR with 48 seats, DAP 15 and PAS 5.The pact with SNAP broke down and the party going its own way.

Local opposition SNAP seemed more practical than PKR contesting in only 27 seats and is expected to do better than PKR. DAP is expected to capture some Chinese seats and PAS would be completely out in the cold.Many seats involved three-cornered or more tussle with independence candidates joining in the fray.

Sarawakians should learn from the Sabah mistakes..... "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" and live to regret it for the rest of their lives.At the moment the state are still master of its own destiny and still preserved certain autonomy while Sabah has given up most of them through every succeeding governments weaken by the politics of federalism.

Sarawak is still ruled under a state coalition which is now under threat of breaking up the same way as Sabah had gone over two decades ago when the state fell to the anti-federal opposition PBS and the back-stabbing of the BN that led to the entry of UMNO into Sabah.With the loss of autonomy prescribed under the Malaysian Agreement which has 20 points for Sabah and 18 points for Sarawak the state has lost its bargaining power and is reduced to almost the same status as other states in Peninsula Malaysia which should not have been the case as Sabah and Sarawak are equal partners with the Federation of Malaya in the creation of the new nation. Sabah and Sarawak should be autonomous regions of the Federation.

Below is the 20-point Malaysian Agreement for Sabah.

Point 1: Religion
While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia, there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply in North Borneo.

Point 2: Language
(a) Malay should be the national language of the Federation.
(b) English should continue to be used for a period of ten years after Malaysia Day.
(c) English should be the official language of North Borneo for all purposes, State or Federal without limitation of time.

Point 3: Constitution
Whilst accepting that the present Constitution of the Federation of Malaya should form the basis of the Constitution of Malaysia, the Constitution of Malaysia should be a completely new document drafted and agreed in the light of free association of States and should not be a series of amendments to a constitution drafted and agreed by different States in totally different circumstances. A new Constitution for North Borneo was, of course, essential.

Point 4: Head of the Federation
The Head of State in North Borneo should not be eligible for election as Head of the Federation.

Point 5: Name of the Federation
“Malaysia” but not “Melayu Raya”

Point 6: Immigration
Control over immigration into any part of Malaysia from outside should rest with the Federation Government but entry into North Borneo should also require approval of the State Government. The Federal Government should not be able to veto the entry of persons into North Borneo for State Government purposes except on strictly security grounds. North Borneo should have unfettered control over the movement of reasons, other than those in Federal Government employ, from other parts of Malaysia into North Borneo.

Point 7: Right of Secession
There should be no right to secede from the Federation.

Point 8: Borneanisation
Borneanisation of the public services should proceed as quickly as possible.

Point 9: British Officers
Every effort should be made to encourage British Officers to remain in the public services until their places can be taken by suitably qualified people from North Borneo.

Point 10: Citizenship
The recommendations in paragraph 148 (K) of the Report of the Cobbold commission should govern the citizenship rights of persons in the Federation of North Borneo subject to the following amendments.

(a) Subparagraph (1) should not contain the provision as to fie years residence.

(b) In order to tie up with our law, subparagraph (1a) should read ‘seven out of ten years’ instead of ‘eight out of twelve years’.

(c) Subparagraph (III) should not contain any restriction tied to the citizenship of parents – a person born in North Borneo after Malaysia must be a Federal citizen.

Point 11: Tariff and Finance
North Borneo should have control of its own finance, development funds and tariffs.

Point 12: Special Position of Indigenous Races
In principle, the indigenous races of North Borneo should enjoy special rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays in Malaya, but the present Malaya formula is this regard is not necessarily applicable in North Borneo.

Point 13: State Government
(a) The Chief Minister should be elected by unofficial members of Legislative Council.
(b) There should be a proper Ministerial system in North Borneo.

Point 14: Transitional Period
This should be seven years and during such period legislative powers must be left with the State of North Borneo by the Constitution and not merely delegated to the State Government by the Federal Government.

Point 15: Education
The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under State control.

Point 16: Constitutional Safeguards
No amendment, modification or withdrawal of any special safeguards granted to North Borneo should be made by the Central Government without the positive concurrence of the Government of the State of North Borneo. The power of amending the Constitution of the State of North Borneo should belong exclusively to the people of the State.

Point 17: Representation in the Federal Parliament
This should take account not only of the population of North Borneo but also of its size and potentialities and in any case should not be less than that of Singapore.

Point 18: Name of Head of State
Yang Dipertua Negara

Point 19: Name of State
Sabah

Point 20: Land, Forests, Local Government, etc
The provisions in the Constitution of the Federation in respect of the power of the National Land Council should not apply in North Borneo. Likewise, the National Council for the Local Government should not apply in North Borneo.

Most of the above have been eroded.

The leaders in Sabah danced to the tune of Kuala Lumpur or rather Putrajaya as UMNO is the linchpin of the state coalition while the other partners are small fragmented local communal parties which, more often than not, are fighting among themselves for ministerial positions.Even mosquito party with 2 state seats think they deserved the deputy chief minister position and ridiculed the chief minister's decision.

Sabah would need another strong man to return to the days of yore.

The leaders in Sabah are so disunited because of greed they are unable to stand together to make demands to the central government for return of state rights and for better benefits for the people of Sabah.Every leader is fighting only for his own self-preservation.

Do I blame the Federal government?

No, I don't, it's the fault of Sabahans who chose irresponsible and selfish leaders who are prepared to trade-in states interests to keep themselves in power.

The rot started soon after the fall of muscleman Mustapha Harun and completed its circle with the entry of UMNO to Sabah which, ironically, was brought in by Mustapha after the fall of Berjaya and played out by PBS to form a coalition in the 1985 state elections. He was sworn in as chief minister....helped by losers in Berjaya who refused to give up power.Sabah had 2 chief ministers for a short while.He later dissolved USNO to make way for UMNO and all for the same reason.... greed.

Mustapha, thought with UMNO in Sabah he could make a come back.Sorry for him, it was UMNO who got rid of him in the first place for his excesses and delusion of grandeur of wanting to take Sabah out of Malaysia. The Federal government created Berjaya to topple him. As they say the rest is history.We now have to live with what we have created for ourselves.

The biggest dissatisfaction and unhappiness expressed by Sarawakians are the massive corruptions by Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, his family and cronies.Billion of ringgits have been siphoned off the state to enrich the power elites.If an audit were to be done I am sure Sarawak had lost billion of ringgits in state revenues due to under invoicing of export prices and underpayment of timber royalties.This, if the MACC wants to know, if they know how to do forensic audit, would be ten times bigger than what the Custom Department had lost over the years due to corruptions.

The biggest timber operator in the world used to be American, now the biggest is a Sarawakian company, operating in almost every known rain forests of the world.The start-up was Sarawak forests given by Taib.

Sarawak, may not be alone in this shameful enterprise, the story is repeated in every state but Sarawak being far richer in its timber resources has bigger pickings which have made overstayer Taib, members of family and cronies very very rich, attributable partly to our democratic system that allows leaders unlimited stay in power.The American two-term system would have been better fitted in countries where leaders tend to put their hands in the cookie jar.

The answer to the Sarawak dilemma is to oust Taib but keep the status quo and at the same time give SNAP, the only viable local opposition a strong showing.

PKR,DAP and PAS would not be able to fulfill the grievances of Sarawakians. Other than DAP, the other two would not be making much inroad in Sarawak politics.PKR contesting 48 seats is an ill-concept and goes to show how greedy this Anwar's outfit is, bite off more than they could chew.

After all what I have said I still think Taib will be returned to power and may even retain its two-third majority.

Sarawakians should learn from the Sabah experience.Don't give up your rights, just give up Taib and his cronies.

Taib smirks, Sarawak seethes

Free Malaysia Today

The white rajah of Sarawak was full of sarcasm when he professed concern for the fate of the Chinese community in the state. Taib Mahmud said he was a bit worried that the urban Chinese voters would pick the opposition to bark at the government. By not playing his game, he explicitly issued them a dire warning: “Voting the opposition means no government support… the areas lost by the Barisan Nasional-led government may not get anything.”

The overweening chief minister even predicted that the BN would be able to win the coming state election. The old man who has been around for the past 30 years thinks the vast, resource-rich state is a hereditary possession. The whole world knows he is a fabulously wealthy man who wields enormous power and who would use his treasure chest to bury his political foes. But history can repeat itself.

Just across the border, Sabah was once ruled by a chief minister dubbed “dirty” Harris. Harris Salleh was, like Uncle Taib, an arrogant and a blustering bully. For almost 10 years, he ruled the impoverished state with hardly any opposition. Then out of Tambunan came an unknown Kadazandusun paramount chief named Joseph Pairin Kitingan. At first, he was in the same party as Harris. Soon he became disillusioned with Harris’ Berjaya and began to oppose its policies and its abuses of power. Big-headed Harris could not stomach opposition from within his own ranks and soon Pairin was forced to quit Berjaya. But hubristic Harris had sealed his own fate.

Pairin became an independent and challenged the ruling party to stand against him in the seething battleground of Tambunan. Haughty Harris took the bait – and lost despite employing an arsenal of dirty tactics. Blinded by power, “dirty” Harris hit the roof and punished the people of Tambunan in a senseless act of vengeance: he deprived them of badly needed development funds. As a result, the Tambunan folk had to live through years of hardship.

But Harris miscalculated in his gamble. The Tambunan people did not buckle under these harsh conditions. They rallied around the banner of a new movement called Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) led by Pairin. When the next state election came, PBS, now the opposition front-runner, was ready to face Harris and his dirty band of followers. PBS fought hard for change and against the excesses of the ruling party. In a last desperate throw of the dice, Harris lost the whole state. The “noxious weed” was uprooted. It was sweet victory for the resilient people of Tambunan.

Will this momentous, historic event be repeated in Sarawak? Taib also threatened to deprive the Chinese community of development funds if they dare throw their lot with the opposition. He even brandished the now reviled line used ignominiously in the 2008 campaign: the government will not be able to help the Chinese community if “there was no effective Chinese representation in the government”. In that another remarkable upheaval, the government’s bluff was called.

But over the years Sabah has been politically emasculated. The scene has now shifted to Sarawak and Uncle Taib is also playing dirty. In fact, his game is dirtier than Harris. His rule is longer than Harris and he exercises absolute power. He controls almost every facet of life in Sarawak. He is not satisfied with what he has done, telling the people he is still looking for ways to develop the state – and pour more money into his bank. Nothing gets pass him without his imperious nod. All his partners in the coalition approach him on bended knees and “protestations of inviolable fidelity”.

He distributes his largesse (huge government contracts) to his supporters, cronies and family members without open tender but throws crumbs to the hungry, toiling natives. His vast business empire was built without breaking a sweat while Sarawak descended to the status of the fourth poorest state in the country despite having ample natural resources. When Sarawak goes to the polls soon, the power of money will no doubt come into full play. But the rumblings in the state against the leader are growing louder. Continue reading.

Sarawak Chieftain's US$1 Dollar Mansion

Written by The Sarawak Report

Thursday, 26 August 2010

We've heard of falling housing markets, but this seems extreme The Sarawak Report, (http://sarawakreport.org/) an NGO based in the east Malaysian state, has uncovered exhaustive evidence that the chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud, has looted Sarawak of hundreds of millions of US dollars and hidden the wealth in Canada, the UK, Australia and the United States. It now has found indications that Taib may have received a US$7 million home from a timber company which depended on Taib for a license to harvest timber. Asia Sentinel is pleased to print the latest of the Sarawak Report's examinations of the Taib family's wealth. Abdul Taib Mahmud, the chief minister of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, appears to have acquired a Seattle, Washington, mansion valued at nearly US$7 million from one of his state's biggest timber barons for just US$1, records in the United States say, according to the NGO, Sarawak Report. Taib has controlled the issuance of timber licenses in Sarawak for the past 30 years. The Seattle property, which covers 26,000 square feet in one of the most prestigious areas of the northwestern US city, was passed to a company owned by Taib in 1991 by a California corporation called CSY Investments, set up in 1988. CSY acquired the property in 1991 and then registered it under subsidiary company called WA Boylston Inc. CSY are the initials of Chee S Yaw, who signs himself as the company's president in documents publicly available at the King County Land Registry. Yaw is one of the younger sons of Yaw Teck Seng, founder of the massive logging conglomerate Samling Global. Yaw Teck Seng is regularly featured in Forbes Asia's Rich List of Malaysia's top 40 richest individuals, as does his eldest son, Yaw Chee Ming, establishing them one of the richest families in Asia. Details of a very nice property Described as a "Top Grade Mansion" in 'very good' condition by the King County Department of Assessments, the property was valued at more than US$6.8 million in 2008. It has 6 bedrooms and 5 main bathrooms and an enormous living space of 9,020 square feet, plus a basement of 2,120 square feet. The house is surrounded by a large open porch and there is a big basement garage for the car-loving Taib family, plus a second, attached garage. The mansion is surrounded by gardens kept in manicured condition on grounds totaling 26,172 square feet. Mysterious acquisition The property, registered under the company W A Boylston Inc (California), has been in the possession of the Taib family since the early to mid-1990s. Family portraits of the chief minister, his deceased wife and four sons and daughters as small children adorn the elaborate rooms. They have all spent time in the mansion, which is not occupied by anyone else. The property forms part of the family's Sakti International Corporation, incorporated in California and managed by Hisham (Sean) Murray, Taib's son-in-law, out of his offices at 333 Preston Street, Ontario, Canada. However, there is confusion in the Seattle public records as to how the property passed to the Taibs. Sarawak Report has been unable to obtain any clear record of the transfer from one owner to another or, importantly, the register of any payment that would normally be eligible for taxation. We have requested a statement from the Taibs to explain the situation. 'Unethical' Earlier this week Samling made international headlines when the Norwegian Government Pension Fund withdrew all investments after condemning the company as 'unethical', owing to illegal logging and environmental devastation in Sarawak. Taib's control over the issuance of Sarawak's timber licenses leaves clear questions over his incentives for favoring such a company. It is no secret that Samling has based its business success on achieving numerous logging concessions in Sarawak. Over the period of the chief minister's rule, companies operating under his licenses have razed virtually all Sarawak's virgin forest, much of it taken without compensation from the indigenous peoples who had been granted these territories under Native Customary Land Rights. Samling is one of the main companies involved in this destruction and it has used its base in Sarawak to launch similar logging operations in the Congo, Amazon, Russia and elsewhere, many of which have been heavily criticized by concerned NGOs across the world. The US $1 Sale How and why did the chief minister come by a mansion formerly owned by Samling? The only official record available of a transfer of the property in the King County Land Registry from CSY is the granting of a so-called Quit Claim Deed for just US$1. The transaction on 19th September 1991 placed the property into the subsidiary company W A Boylston Inc, incorporated a few days earlier on September 5th by CSY at its registered address, 2260 Douglas Boulevard, Roseville, California, which was the headquarters of CSY. CSY and Boylston then immediately filed a joint letter to the King County Real Estate and Excise Tax Department declaring 'under penalty of perjury' that W A Boylston was a wholly-owned subsidiary of CSY Investments, thereby making the Quit Claim transaction exempt from excise tax. However, our investigations have shown that there is no subsequent record in the Land Registry of the later transfer of ownership of W A Boylston from CSY (Samling) to the Taibs. According to rules published by King County such a transfer would normally require the payment of thousands of dollars of excise tax. Proof of Taib ownership Despite the lack of open records, Sarawak Report is able to confirm that there is definitive proof that the Taibs did take over the property from Samling's CSY. In fact they took up residence as the effective owners not long after the property was placed in the hands of the CSY subsidiary W. A. Boylston. Rahman Taib had an insurance assessment drawn up in 1996 (see above). Furthermore, a significant alteration was made to the company's official address and official representative in 2000. In that year W A Boylston's annual Statement by a Domestic Stock Corporation to the State of California noted a change of address to that of the headquarters of Sakti International (the property company, which Sarawak Report has recently proved to be majority owned by the chief minister). Likewise, the company representative was altered from a CSY official to Rahman Taib, the Chief Minister's younger son. How much did it cost? Taib's salary as chief minister of the state of Sarawak is about RM50,000 (US$15,900) per month. If he had bought the Seattle home, the cost would have been about US$3 million at the time to purchase it from Samling. If he acquired it for US$1, there could well be tax implications for Samling and Taib in the states of California and Washington as well as the federal government. There is a second Seattle Mansion! If the Boylston mansion was indeed a 'gift' from Samling to the Chief Minister, then one cannot expect such a thing to be done by halves. Indeed, a second, equally gracious and prestigious mansion has also found its way from the Yaws to the Taibs in Seattle, by what would appear to be exactly the same route. W. A. Everett Inc 2222 Everett Avenue East, worth $2,854,000 at its peak value in 2008, was also originally purchased by the Yaws. It was then registered under another California corporation, W A Everett Inc, set up on the same day as W A Boylston (5th September 1991). W. A. Everett Inc is likewise listed as a subsidiary of CSY in the King County Land Registry. This mansion also ended up in the hands of the Taibs. The property is smaller, with four bedrooms and bathrooms, but has famously sought after views over the City. Sarawak Report understands that the Taibs have mainly rented it out over the past two decades, but as with Boylston, the only information about a transfer of ownership of the company from Samling to the Taibs comes with an identical change of address and officers in 2000, from the CSY address in Roseville to Rahman Taib, at Sakti International's Headquarters in San Francisco. This leaves many questions about how the Taibs have acquired their wealth and property. Asia Sentinel

Sarawak's White-Haired Rajah

Written by The Sarawak Report

TUESDAY, 10 AUGUST 2010

Photo: Malaysiakini An NGO details more of the hidden wealth of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud The Sarawak Report, an NGO based in the east Malaysian state, has uncovered exhaustive evidence that the chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud, has looted Sarawak of hundreds of millions of US dollars and hidden the wealth in Canada, the UK, Australia and the United States. Asia Sentinel is pleased to print the latest of the Sarawak Report’s examinations of the Taib family’s wealth. The Sarawak Report has uncovered additional documents that lay bare a system of private deals that enabled Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud to conceal his true ownership of the properties. This was presumably in order to hide the extent of his enormous wealth, for which he has yet to provide any legitimate explanation. Under the system, while it is Taib‟s relatives who are publicly registered as the official shareholders and directors of the companies owning the properties, a separate, private agreement ensures that the shares are actually held in trust for him. Download PDF. Documentary evidence of elaborate concealment Among documents in its possession Sarawak Report has a copy of one such private agreement relating to the shares in Sakti International, a company that owns buildings in San Francisco. Sakti is part of a web of companies started in North America by the Taibs, which includes Sakto, a major Ottawa property company, and Wallysons, which owns the Abraham Lincoln Building in Seattle, housing a top secret anti-terrorist facility for the FBI. The five official shareholders of Sakti International, which is registered in California, are Taib's brothers, Onn Mahmud and Arip Mahmud, along with three of his children, Sulaiman Taib, Mahmud Taib and Jamilah Taib. However, as the document which we have obtained shows, a resolution made soon after the formation of the company has privately ruled that half those shares, a commanding majority, are held in trust for the Chief Minister. The value of these shares amounts to US$40 million for Sakti alone, according to the company‟s documents. Tip of the iceberg? However, Sakti International, estimated to be worth US$80 million, accounts for just a small proportion of the Taib family wealth. Our previous exposes have revealed a vast portfolio of further international property assets owned by members of Taib Mahmud‟s immediate family. For example, Taib's own children are the shareholders and directors of numerous companies controlling residential and commercial buildings in Canada, Australia, Britain and the United States together worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. Yet many of these assets came into their possession when they were in their early 20s and still college students with no visible access to legitimate resources to invest. The inevitable question for Taib Mahmud, therefore, is whether, as in the case of Sakti International, they are also secretly holding these other properties in trust for him? If not, what explanation can there be for these investments? A number of reports have been made to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) regarding the recent disclosures of the Taib family wealth. These new revelations proving the direct link to the Chief Minister will increase the pressure on the MACC to respond with a proper investigation. Further Fingerprints The Sakti International documents in our possession, released as part of the disclosure in a recent court case, provide further extensive evidence of Taib Mahmud‟s involvement in the company, despite his denials of any business connections. Indeed one of the company‟s earliest official documents, signed in 1987, lists him as one of the Directors of Sakti International. Chief Minister's name in black and white, listed as a Director Of Sakti International The document in question is a Domestic Stock Corporation Statement for Sakti International, which is required annually by the State of California. In 1987, the year the company was set up, its inaugural statement clearly registered Taib Mahmud, along with his brothers Onn Mahmud and Arip Mahmud, as a director of the company. The only officer of the company is listed as Mahmud Taib, the Chief Minister's eldest son. It is well-known that in subsequent Taib family enterprises the Chief Minister has always scrupulously avoided including his own name in any documentation. This early mistake will undermine his constant claims that, in keeping with his role as Chief Minister, he has no direct business interests. It is clear that he in fact set up Sakti International, using the address of his own house in San Francisco. Download PDF Cover Up Subsequently, records show that the structure of the company was altered to make Onn, Arip and Mahmud Taib the three Directors, while Rahman became the only officer of the company. But, as we are now able to exclusively report, Taib Mahmud secretly retained his control through a resolution by the company directors dated April 8th 1988. This resolution (see top) placed 500 of the 1,000 shares issued by the company in trust for him. The Godfather The Sakti documents give insight into the methods used by Taib Mahmud to control his family members, who are supposedly the earners and "businessmen" who have generated the Taibs' legendary wealth. The five relatives who were selected to own shares in Sakti International were each given a different number of shares. Each then surrendered differing proportions of these shares to be held in trust for the Chief Minister. Brother Onn Mahmud gets 400 shares, but of them 200 are held for the Chief Minister, whereas brother Arip gets just 200 shares, 100 of which are in trust for Taib. Mahmud Taib has the same arrangement as Arip. However younger brother, Sulaiman Rahman Taib, who was later made sole director of Sakti, only gets 100 shares under the agreement and they are all in fact held in trust for his father. Daughter Jamilah also only gets 100 shares, but she gets to hold them all herself. The system ensures that Taib Mahmud has half of all the shares held in trust for himself, whereas none of the others hold more than 200 shares. In this way he clearly keeps a commanding control over the company he pretends not to own.Read more.

Will Sarawak Catch The Flu And Get The Fever ?

Hantu Laut

The battle for Batang Ai has started and guns are blazing from both sides of the war zone.Who would become the casualty will only be known after 7 April 2009.

Will Sarawak eventually go the way Sabah did, surrender its political power to Peninsula-based party or should it maintains the status-quo and keep its autonomy intact.

Sabah's autonomy has been completely eroded which begun during Berjaya days under Harris Salleh and completely sealed when UMNO took over the administration of the state. Internal bickering among selfish politicians was the cause that robbed Sabah of its autonomy.

If one go through Sarawak political blogs one would be amazed that almost all were against Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and are working hard to make sure the message get across, the BN candidate must not be allowed to win.

The more than 30 years of abuses and corruption by those in power may have led to the quest for change. The natives main complaint were the loss of NCR (Native Customary Right) lands to loggers and other developments deemed not benefical to them.

The Sarawak's blogosphere is buzzing with activities and campaigns similar to pre-March 8 General Elections when West Malaysian bloggers came out with guns blazing to decimate the BN that helped the oppositions gain significant ground and capture of 5 state governments.

The article below is from the most vociferous blogger 'Sarawak Headhunter'.

Sarawakians, Here's Where Some Of The Money Stolen From You Went

Rockcliffe 'palace' Ottawa's No. 2 home

The handsome new home of Ottawa developer Sean Murray and his wife, Jamilah Taib, has shot to No. 2 among Ottawa's most expensive private residences, as measured by the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. (MPAC).

The couple's house at 688 Manor Ave. in Rockcliffe Park, completed late last year, is worth $9,609,000, assessors have decided. That puts it second only to that of neighbours Marlen and Michael Cowpland. The Cowplands' modern mansion at 234 Perley Crt. has an updated assessment value of $12,535,000.

The Cowpland residence has been controversial because of its ultra-modern look, which some traditionalists have grumbled is out of place in Rockcliffe Park, where many of Ottawa's most expensive homes are located.

The new home of Mr. Murray and Ms. Taib has a more traditional look, which blends in with older, and much smaller, houses nearby. Its construction has been the talk of Rockcliffe for months.

Well-heeled neighbours were impressed when the couple showed off their new home at a recent house-warming and Christmas party. Read more......

More blogs below:

SARAWAK DAYAK BLOGGERS

• Ai Pengayu (Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban)
• Borneo Warrior (Tedewin Ngumbang)
• Bukit Tunggal (Darah Aku Menua Aku)
• The Dyaks Blog
• The Truth Revealed (Yes Minister)
• Tiyung Dayak
• Uchu Keling (James Guang)
• United States of All Borneo
• The Broken Shield
  

Will Sarawak catch the flu and get the West Malaysian fever?

Is Sarawak Going To Anwar's PKR ?

Hantu Laut

Anwar Ibrahim sees Sabah and Sarawak as easy picking.He has taken over as PKR's liaison chairman for both Sabah and Sarawak.Some PKR leaders in both states are in a quandary.They think he has no trust and confidence in them to lead the party.In Sabah it was rumoured that Jeffery Kitingan, one of the vice-presidents of PKR may leave the party soon due to dissatisfaction with the leadership.Former liaison Chairman Ansari Abdullah had relinquished his position earlier and the position was taken up by Anwar.

Sarawak would be having its state elections latest by 2011 and Anwar foresees erosion of support for Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and his coalition government.He based his findings on the dissatisfaction of the Dayak and Chinese voters against Taib's administration.The same was said of Musa Aman of Sabah in the March 2008 General Elections but the result was a shocking disbelief.Most people predicted Musa and the BN would lose badly in the elections.The BN won with a huge landslide and together with Sarawak saved the Federal government from falling to the oppositions.Both chief ministers had shown their mantles and the federal leaders would be foolish to ignore their contributions to the saving of UMNO.You can only win elections overwhelmingly if you have good organisational setup.

Sabah and Sarawak are the mothers of money politics, progenitors of vote buying, political arm twisting and the ultimate money can buy anything.If words can't convince you money can and more often than not it works and Sabah and Sarawak have plenty of it during elections times.

In the 'Land Of The Hornbills' there are more money growing on trees than the legendary birds in the forests.The forests have made millionaires and billionaires.

Today, the biggest logging companies in the world are no longer the Americans or British, they are Sarawakian companies with logging activities spanning the world's rainforests from small island nation of Solomon Islands to Africa,South America and the forests of Siberia.These businessmen are the epitome of 'rags to riches' story and many owed their success to the Sarawak Chief Minister.A friend of mine once told me that in Chinese culture and more so with the Foochow 'you don't forget those who has helped you' and also 'you don't forget those that had betrayed you'.The 'Foochows' of Sarawak control most of the big businesses especially timber.

It is no use to complain about money politics, it is too much ingrained in the political system everywhere and the worst culprits are those in UMNO.Buying favours and corruptions, which is one and the same, is one of the world's oldest profession.Maybe, the government should adopt a system similar to the American and legalise money politics.

It is not that the people of Sarawak don't want any political change, but what are the alternatives? Can PKR be the right answer ? Bringing PKR to Sarawak is the same as bringing UMNO to Sarawak.Looking at the Sabah experience and if PKR or Pakatan took over the state government in the next state elections but were not able to capture the federal government, than they would become an opposition state and suffer the same fate as PBS of Sabah when it was out of the BN. In the event Pakatan succeeded in taking over the federal government than Sarawak would become a subservient state like Sabah.

Sarawakians may be faced with a Hobson's choice, stay with the status quo or trade-in state rights to the central government.

PKR and DAP might make some inroads into some disgruntled Dayak and Chinese areas in Sarawak but not enough to rein in the government.Sarawakians are still suspicious of handing over total power to Peninsula-based political party.

The biggest problem for Anwar is would his Pakatan Rakyat survive until the Sarawak state elections in 2011.The bickering between DAP and PAS has widen the gap and would get bigger as time goes by. Adding to the problem is Anwar's silence on PAS hudud law ambition, he remained muted for fear of a backlash from PAS leadership.

Would Anwar be able to capture Sarawak as portrayed in this article.

I would say he gets as far as the 'nickel and dime'

According to reliable sources, the BN could lose up to 30 seats in the next state elections, which would mean that Pakatan Rakyat just needs to capture six extra seats to win power, if the elections were held today.
(A caption for the article from Malaysian Insider 'Anwar sniffing victory in Taib’s backyard')