Human rights group Bruno Manser Fonds’ executive director, Lukas Straumann, says freezing Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud's (pic) assets is critical to preventing family members from appropriating illicitly acquired wealth. – Bernama pic, February 22, 2024
Swiss NGO presses for asset freeze, renewed probe into Taib Mahmud’s wealth
Human rights group Bruno Manser Fonds says 2016 investigation was prematurely closed due to political reasons
22 February, 2024
KUALA LUMPUR – Swiss environmental and human rights group Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF) has urged the Malaysian government to freeze the assets of the late former Sarawak governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud to investigate the source of his immense wealth and that of his immediate family.
BMF executive director Lukas Straumann urged Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission to revisit its 2016 investigation into Taib’s assets, asserting that it was prematurely closed for political reasons.
“All of Taib’s personal bank accounts and other assets should be frozen immediately to prevent illicitly acquired wealth from being appropriated by family members,” Straumann said in a statement.
During Taib’s six-decade-long tenure as a public servant, he accumulated vast wealth, despite constitutional prohibitions for the Sarawak chief minister and governor to engage in commercial enterprises, Straumann said.
In 2021, a legal opinion commissioned by BMF found that Taib’s directorship and shareholding in a Malaysian company violated the Sarawak Constitution, as the company was engaged in land deals in Sarawak.
In the statement, BMF said Taib faced accusations of abusing public office and corruption in the 1990s when CMS, Sarawak’s largest state-owned company, was privatised into the hands of his close family members.
During his tenure as chief minister, CMS benefited from public contracts worth over RM4.9 billion, the group said.
It added that Sarawak, under Taib’s leadership, witnessed a drastic reduction in its primary rainforests, dwindling from 90% coverage in the 1960s to less than 10% today.
Taib’s support for industrial logging and plantations faced resistance from indigenous communities, which protested against the infringement of their customary rights, the group said.
While the current extent of Taib’s wealth is unknown to the public, a 2012 report by BMF titled The Taib Timber Mafia: Facts and Figures on Politically Exposed Persons from Sarawak, Malaysia, revealed that his net worth stood at US$15 billion (RM71.5 billion).
The 87-year-old veteran politician passed away on Wednesday, less than a month after his replacement as governor of Sarawak.
His widow and sons are currently engaged in a legal battle in a Malaysian court over access to his substantial wealth.
The late former governor’s death had prompted reflection on his influential yet controversial political career and lasting impact in Sarawak.
Meanwhile, Sarawakians from all walks of life gathered at the State Legislative Assembly Complex to pay their respects to Taib.
The funeral procession included Taib’s wife, Toh Puan Raghad Kurdi Taib, and his children, Jamilah Hamidah, Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Sulaiman, and Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib.
Members of the public, as well as state and federal leaders, paid their respects, with Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah among the dignitaries attending the funeral. – February 22, 2024
Swiss NGO presses for asset freeze, renewed probe into Taib Mahmud’s wealth
Human rights group Bruno Manser Fonds says 2016 investigation was prematurely closed due to political reasons
22 February, 2024
KUALA LUMPUR – Swiss environmental and human rights group Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF) has urged the Malaysian government to freeze the assets of the late former Sarawak governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud to investigate the source of his immense wealth and that of his immediate family.
BMF executive director Lukas Straumann urged Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission to revisit its 2016 investigation into Taib’s assets, asserting that it was prematurely closed for political reasons.
“All of Taib’s personal bank accounts and other assets should be frozen immediately to prevent illicitly acquired wealth from being appropriated by family members,” Straumann said in a statement.
During Taib’s six-decade-long tenure as a public servant, he accumulated vast wealth, despite constitutional prohibitions for the Sarawak chief minister and governor to engage in commercial enterprises, Straumann said.
In 2021, a legal opinion commissioned by BMF found that Taib’s directorship and shareholding in a Malaysian company violated the Sarawak Constitution, as the company was engaged in land deals in Sarawak.
In the statement, BMF said Taib faced accusations of abusing public office and corruption in the 1990s when CMS, Sarawak’s largest state-owned company, was privatised into the hands of his close family members.
During his tenure as chief minister, CMS benefited from public contracts worth over RM4.9 billion, the group said.
It added that Sarawak, under Taib’s leadership, witnessed a drastic reduction in its primary rainforests, dwindling from 90% coverage in the 1960s to less than 10% today.
Taib’s support for industrial logging and plantations faced resistance from indigenous communities, which protested against the infringement of their customary rights, the group said.
While the current extent of Taib’s wealth is unknown to the public, a 2012 report by BMF titled The Taib Timber Mafia: Facts and Figures on Politically Exposed Persons from Sarawak, Malaysia, revealed that his net worth stood at US$15 billion (RM71.5 billion).
The 87-year-old veteran politician passed away on Wednesday, less than a month after his replacement as governor of Sarawak.
His widow and sons are currently engaged in a legal battle in a Malaysian court over access to his substantial wealth.
The late former governor’s death had prompted reflection on his influential yet controversial political career and lasting impact in Sarawak.
Meanwhile, Sarawakians from all walks of life gathered at the State Legislative Assembly Complex to pay their respects to Taib.
The funeral procession included Taib’s wife, Toh Puan Raghad Kurdi Taib, and his children, Jamilah Hamidah, Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Sulaiman, and Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib.
Members of the public, as well as state and federal leaders, paid their respects, with Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah among the dignitaries attending the funeral. – February 22, 2024
No comments:
Post a Comment