The Most corrupt Sick Man in Malaysia
In his speech read by the Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg at the closing of the 2009 Sarawak Anti-Corruption Carnival at Padang Merdeka 0n 12th Jul 2009, Taib Mahmud said inefficiency was one of the key factors that caused corruption and abuse of power. He said the attitude of delaying, taking one’s own sweet time and being careless presents an opportunity to dishonest civil servants to commit graft. I totally disagree with this statement. I strongly believe that most if not all the law enforcement professional out there tend to agree with me, that the main factor for civil servant to commiting graft or corruption is because of the power and opportunity vested to them . For example, the police and the enforcement officers. Other example that can be clearly seen (inclusive the Coffee Shop Operators) is Taib himself. Taib Mahmud is known by almost everyone to be the most corrupted politician in Malaysia (probably the world). He was raised from a poor family and his father was a fishermen. But now, all of his family members have became amongst the richest people in Sarawak. Even his daughter can afford to buy the most expensive house in Ottawa.
With so many evidents and much talks about Tok Uban Corrupted Practices, Until now MCC have not sprang into action.
Despite the news being widely talked amongst the people of Sarawak (inclusive some parts of peninsular Malaysia) but so far no action has been taken by MCC. Why double standard ? In Selangor or Penang just from romours had caused few Pakatan State Assembly members being investigated by thye MCC.
Why it is so difficult for the MCC to open the file on Taib ? What worry me so much is that, someone in the the MCC had been given with big monies by Tok Uban.....Alleged Corruption Against Taib Mahmud
Accusations of deep corruption and nepotism have surrounded Taib on several occasions and the dominance of Sarawak's political elite including Taib's family in the logging industry is well documented.In 2007, it was reported that nine Japanese shipping companies, which transported timber from Sarawak, had allegedly failed to report some 1.1 billion yen in income over a period of up to seven years. The report claimed the money was paid as kickbacks to Sarawak officials via a Hong Kong agent linked to Taib's family.
Please see the Letter From Japanese NGO joint letter to PM Badawi & ACA
April 27th 2007
Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad BadawiPrime Minister of Malaysia CC: Director, Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)
Subject: Corruption allegations against Sarawak CM Taib Mahmud and freedom of speech in Malaysia
Your Excellency,
We, the undersigned Japanese non-governmental organizations and citizen's groups, wish to express our profound concern regarding threats by the Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Pehin Taib Mahmud to lodge a defamation suit against the Malaysiakini news service and leaders of Party Keadilan Rakyat Sarawak for raising allegations of his involvement in a RM 32 million kickback scheme reported by the Japan Times and other Japanese newspapers.
We understand that the corruption allegations raised against CM Taib Mahmud originated from a report in the Japan Times on Mar 29,, 2007 that nine Japanese shipping companies which transport lumber from Sarawak failed to report some 1.1 billion yen (approximately RM 32 million) in income paid as remuneration to Regent Star, a Hong Kong-based agent with connections to CM Taib Mahmud and his family, during a period of seven years through last March. According to the report, the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau determined that these payments were rebates, not legitimate expenses, and is likely to impose well over 400 million in back taxes and penalties against the shipping companies.
The Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese) also reported the above facts in an article on March 28th. Furthermore, the Asahi Shimbun English edition reported on March 28th that the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau had ordered Kansai Line Co. to pay 50 million yen in back taxes and penalties for falsely including so-called intermediation fees totaling 130 million yen paid to Regent Star over a seven year period until December 2005, in its cost of loading logs in ports in Sarawak, in an effort to hide the payments.
The Asahi Shimbun Japanese edition further reported on March 27th that shipping companies affiliated with the Nanyozai Freight Agreement (NFA) cartel are suspected to have paid more than US $25 million (approx. 2.5 billion yen) in intermediation fees to Regent Star in the ten years up to 2005. An anonymous industry source is quoted as admitting that "there was an understanding that these were payments to the Chief Minister's family" and in essence, kickbacks.
According to the article, the NFA admitted that it had in 1981 entered into an agreement with Dewaniaga Sarawak (DNS) on log exports to Japan, and had been instructed by DNS to pay intermediation fees to Regent Star in Hong Kong. The payments, which are said to have continued for 26 years since 1981, are said to have started at a rate of approximately US $1.50 per cubic meter of logs shipped, and to have increased over the years to the current rate of US $3.28, while the log shipments declined from a peak of 3.8 million m3 in 1990 to about 410,000 m3 in 2005. The report estimates that an average of one to four million dollars per year, totaling US $25,250,000 was paid to Regent Star between 1996 and 2005 alone. The article also mentions that an industry source alleged that DNS director Dato' Onn Bin Mahmud, brother of CM Taib Mahmud, sometimes participated in person in negotiations of the intermediation fees between Regent Star and the NFA.
From the above, it should be crystal clear that the allegations lodged against CM Taib Mahmud by Malaysiakini and Party Keadilan Rakyat Sarawak are not based on rumor or hearsay, but on information reported in a consistent manner by several leading Japanese newspapers. As organizations working in the Malaysian public interest, Malaysiakini and Party Keadilan have merely been exercising their freedom of expression and fulfilling their duty to raise concerns to the public and competent authorities regarding highly disturbing information meriting further investigation. In fact, it would have been dereliction of their public duty not to have done so. If whistleblowers immediately face threats of litigation for defamation, how can citizens play an active role in eliminating corruption? Should not CM Taib Mahmud present a clear explanation rather than resort to such intimidation? And if he disagrees with the allegations in the reports, should he not question their sources in Japan and the Japanese tax authorities, rather than Malaysian citizens who are merely bringing them to the public attention?
In light of your pledge to make anti-corruption a top policy priority with "zero tolerance for corruption," we urge you to live up to your reputation by instructing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) directly under your supervision to immediately commence a formal investigation into the allegations raised in these media reports, and to keep the public informed of developments thereof. Party Keadilan Rakyat Sarawak has already lodged two reports on this matter as of April 13th 2007, one with the Kuching Central Police Station and another with the Anti-Corruption Agency in Kuching, following your public statement advising that reports be lodged so that the ACA could take action. Japanese civil society will do its most to urge the Japanese tax authorities to cooperate with Malaysia in its investigation, so that the truth can be revealed and justice served.
Furthermore, we ask you to ensure that Malaysian citizens do not face undue pressure or malicious litigation in an attempt to suppress their freedom of speech when raising issues in the public interest. Certainly such transparency is crucial in upholding the honor and untarnished reputation of Malaysia in the international community.
Sincerely,
Sarawak Campaign Committee (SCC)Friends of the Earth Japan (FOEJ)Japan Tropical Forest Action Network (JATAN)The Japan Citizens' Coalition for the UN International Decade of theWorld's Indigenous Peoples (INDEC)Japan Network on Human Rights in MalaysiaPacific Asia Resource Center (PARC)Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands Forest Protection Group in JapanY. Sakamoto, Global Environment Forum
The results of the logging industry under Taib is that less than 10% of Sarawak's primary forests remain, logging many of the ancestral lands of many of Sarawak's indigenous communities, despite their continued petitions and road blockades, where forceful dismantling has led to several deaths and regular violent coercion by the Malaysian army, police and logging industry enforcers.
In the 2008 general election, Taib's son Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib won a seat in the Malaysian parliament and became Deputy Tourism Minister in the new cabinet.Prior to this, he did not have any political experience. Taib's sister Roziah is one of the most powerful businesswoman in Sarawak with extensive holdings in property and timber business.
Taib's brother-in-law, Aziz Hussain, was appointed state secretary by Mahmud and when he retired, Mahmud appointed him executive director of Sarawak Energy and other companies
Or MCC will only going take action after Tok Uban no longer in power, just like what happened in Penang and Selangor !
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