CORRUPTED BARISAN NASIONAL

Anwar’s Acquittal – What Are The Hidden Messages?

2012-01-15T09:07:00.000+08:00

By now everybody in Planet Earth knows de-facto opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has been acquitted on a charge of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008. The acquittal surprises many people – from opposition parties, Najib administration, former premier Mahathir and even Anwar himself. But was Anwar really surprised with the verdict? For a person who was about 90% to be sent behind bars for the second time for the same sodomy charge, Anwar doesn’t seems to be the happiest person in comparison to his wife, daughters, the thousands cheering crowds and his buddies from the opposition parties.

For a start, five days before the verdict, the once fierce and deadly keris-waver Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein (cousin of PM Najib Razak) surprisedmany cats with his super soft approach by allowing 9-Jan rally with a lame condition that the “901-Free Anwar Campaign” organizer must guarantee a peaceful rally. Despite hundreds of reports lodged nationwide against the rally, the Home Minister must either be drunk or had switched his brains with Princess Diana for allowing such “illegal rally”.

Then, the IGP (Inspector-General of Police) was super proactive by instructing the city police chief to meet the organisers over the rally. The second sweet-cherry surprise came when the police granted permit to the “901 Free Anwar” rally when the same police force preferred a confrontation against any rally in the past, the latest being barely six months ago during Bersih 2.0 rally. Of course there was negligible hiccup such as the silly 10-condition string attached after the permit was granted, of which the rally participants didn’t give a hoot to, and the police didn’t enforce it seriously at the court house nonetheless.

Compared to Bersih 2.0′s “Walk for Democracy” rally where more than a dozen FRU trucks and about 300 FRU and other police personnel were stationed near Masjid Jamek alone, one must be wondering if all these heavyweight terminators are on vacation this time, judging from the lack of FRU presenceduring the “901 Free Anwar” rally. This was a surprise indeed as the rally was allegedly supposed to garner a bigger crowd of 100,000 participants.

The judge in delivering his short two minute acquittal verdict gave a simple explanation that the DNA sample could have been contaminated and hence he could not rely on the controversial DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution, before disappearing into his chamber as if he was constipated. This despite the fact that Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah ruled back in May 2011 that Mohd Saiful was a “credible and truthful witness”. The furious Anwar and his legal team applied to replace the judge as he prejudged before the trial concluded. So, it was surprise that only now the same judge realized there was no case after all.

And how did those home-made explosives which triggered three small explosions and injured five persons planted in three police cones,considering the police was monitoring the area intensively? Unless Anwar supporters fancy blowing up themselves out of fun, these home-made explosives could be planted to create chaos should the judge delivers a conviction verdict. It would then be used as justification to deny any future rally because it would be proven that the peaceful rally can become deadly. Nah, the Perkasa group was too chicken to do such thing, no? But the judge was ready to acquit Anwar so what give?

The answer: the acquittal verdict could be a last-minute decision. To get together the jigsaw puzzle, let’s revisit the past articles. This article “Resign Or Snap Election For Najib, Here’re The Reasons“, talks about the power struggle within UMNO between PM Najib and the 3M-Team led by his mentor Mahathir. Of course Najib didn’t resign nor call for a snap election because he found a temporary workaround – balancing the power by inviting a third force into the equation hence the article “Romance Of Three Kingdoms – Najib, Mahathir & Anwar“.

Auntie Rosy seems to have taken some notes in “All Is Not Lost, If Auntie Rosy Dare To Turn The Table” article, and managed to whacked hubby Najib out of his slumberland with her precious Birkin bag. Najib in turns have done some damage controls. Former Selangor state Chief Minister Khir Toyo has been sacrificed, not that he was an innocent angel in the first place. Najib also has stopped parroting Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali’s racial remarks, not to mention being super nice to the Chinese community and spend more time talking economy instead of checking Anwar’s daily sex life.

MACC was instructed to spend time on Shahrizat, an UMNO warlord aligned with deputy PM Muhyiddin over the RM250 million CowGate Scandal. Instead of an apology over Bersih 2.0 mishandling, Hishammuddin (reluctantly) showed his soft-spot in the latest “901 Free Anwar” rally. That would leave a “Cabinet Reshuffle” the only pending task before the actual snap election. Nevertheless Cabinet reshuffle is not an easy task considering it would potentially remove the warlords’ cheese. For the same reason, Mahathir wasn’t really fancy the idea of fielding “winnable candidates” drummed by Najib. Nevertheless, it was a great job by Auntie Rosy.

Of course, Najib was having orgasm when he thought he had given Mahathir a run for his money by flexing his muscles in making Shahrizat furious and mumbling as if she was infected by mad-cow disease in “Best Democracy In The World – Najib Impressed Obama” article. Mahathir wasn’t amused with Najib’s antic at all but he was equally disgusted with Shahrizat’s arroganceand denial syndrome in the scandal which went to the extent of naughty jokes about the women’s RM26,000 bra. Mahathir recognizes the need to neutralize any scandal which could potentially invite Middle East style uprising, not to mention the coming election, hence his worry in the article “Mahathir And His 3M Team Are Worried And Here’s Why“.

Sensing Najib was dragging his feat in Anwar’s sodomy trial, Mahathir tried tostage a comeback by putting his hands in everything from political to economic issues. This put Anwar in high alert as in “Anwar And Opposition Are Worried – Mahathir Is Back” article. But it wasn’t only Anwar who was worried about Mahathir’s sudden active manoeuvres. Najib was equally worried that the old master tactician started gathering supporters openly especially from UMNO warlords. It seems there was silent power struggle as well as alliance talksamong three persons right to the moment before the judge announces the verdict – Najib, Anwar and Mahathir.

Maybe that explains the flip-flop about the police’s rally permit which demanded the sudden 10 conditions after granted it, not to mention the unexpected explosions plus the rush by the (reluctant) judge in delivering the verdict. Maybe someone very powerful inside UMNO tried to create havochoping to use it as weapon to gain absolute power and force PM Najib to resign. One has to remember Najib is still surrounded by many warlords who may be dropped as candidates in the next general election. With a last-minute secret alliance brokered between Anwar and Najib, Mahathir’s power is clipped and this provides a balance of power amongst them.

So no, the judiciary pillar is not an inch any better than before the acquittal as what many perceived. It was a bonus from Najib’s manoeuvre to tilt the power in his favour from Mahathir. By temporary sending Mahathir to the drawing board once again, Najib can claim judiciary independence under his administration and score some points. Who said Najib is stupid? Moving forward, Najib should reshuffle his cabinet before calling for the polls if he insists on fielding winnable candidates. Going by the calendar, he should be calling the polls in Mar-2012 if he thinks a cabinet reshuffle is too risky. Otherwise, he would do the reshuffle in Mar-2012 and call the polls in June-2012. One more thing – Shahrizat may be put in cold storage as her cows are inviting unfavourable feedback from the rural folks.

Pegawai sembunyikan duit suapan RM700,000 dalam telekung, di dapur

2012-01-07T23:57:00.000+08:00

IPOH: Seorang pegawai Jabatan Perhutanan Perak dikesan menyembunyikan wang tunai lebih RM700,000 ($287,450) disyaki hasil suapan yang diterimanya di serata tempat di kediamannya, termasuk dalam kain telekung, selain di bilik tidur, ruang tamu dan dapur.

Suspek yang berusia dalam lingkungan 50-an dikatakan turut mengagihkan wang suapan yang keseluruhannya dipercayai melebihi RM4 juta di dalam beberapa akaun bank milik anggota keluarganya, berdasarkan buku bank yang turut ditemui di rumahnya.

Perbuatan suspek terbongkar apabila sepasukan lebih 10 pegawai Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM), melakukan serbuan mengejut di kediaman anggota perkhidmatan awam itu di Gerik, awal pagi kelmarin.

Sumber berkata, suspek yang bekerja di Jabatan Perhutanan Perak, ditahan ketika berada di rumahnya bersama isteri dan anak-anaknya.

'Hasil pemeriksaan, pegawai SPRM menemui sejumlah wang yang disembunyikan suspek di dalam bilik, dapur dan ruang tamu rumahnya, selain dalam telekung,' kata sumber itu.

Serbuan dan tangkapan itu dibuat pada 2 pagi itu susulan penahanan seorang lagi pegawai kanan jabatan sama, bersama seorang 'tauke balak' berkaitan kes mencuri balak bernilai lebih setengah juta ringgit di Hutan Kuak Luar, berdekatan Pengkalan Hulu, tengah hari Rabu lalu.

Tangkapan mereka dibuat berikutan penemuan lebih 300 balak siap dipotong bernilai kira-kira RM600,000 di kawasan pembalakan Hutan Kuak Luar, berdekatan Pengkalan Hulu.

Dalam serbuan itu, SPRM turut menahan tiga lori yang sedang mengangkut balak dan merampas beberapa jentera berat di kawasan pembalakan berkenaan.

Siasatan awal SPRM juga mendapati balak itu ditebang di luar kawasan tender.

Sumber berkata, pihaknya akan menjalankan siasatan lanjut mengenai kes itu berikutan penemuan sejumlah wang tunai yang banyak, selain pelaburan saham membabitkan jutaan ringgit.

'Pegawai kanan itu dan dua lagi suspek yang ditangkap Rabu lalu masih ditahan untuk siasatan,' kata sumber itu. -- BHM, Harian Metro.

It’s A Cow … It’s A Condo … It’s Criminal Breach Of …

2011-11-19T13:31:00.000+08:00

Corrupt Barisan Nasional - Previous Next

The infamous “It’s A Bird … It’s A Plane … It’s Superman” tag, referring to the superhero who wears his red underwear outside, is here again. However, since this is a Malaysian version, the superhero’s adventure would undergo a total re-engineering. It would be a blockbuster. It could even wake Christopher Reeve up from his grave. It would most likely thriller than Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Of course the new superhero is Shahrizat (instead of Superman), Minister of Women, Family and Community Development.

The National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal couldn’t come at a better time when PM Najib Razak was getting ready to call a snap election. Shahrizat was supposed to be Najib’s “Iron Lady Minister”, the same way Rafidah was during Mahathir’s premiership. Unfortunately unlike Rafidah who didn’t lose her seat to become a minister, Shahrizat lost hers and has to be made a Senator to become a back-door Minister. Also, unlike Rafidah who wisely invested most of her “wealth” overseas, particularly in United Kingdom, Shahrizat thought it was a magnificent idea to invest in a RM10 million luxury condo in upmarket Bangsar.

National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) was suposed to be a High Impact Project under Ninth Malaysia Plan with the objective of attaining 40% self sufficiency for beef production by 2010. But going by the scandal revelations, it seems someone has hijacked the RM250 million (soft-loan) project to become the person’s own self sufficiency agenda. It was revealed that the original plan from Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry was to spend RM6.37 million to breed 9,000 cattles with about 28% returns annually. But that plan took three years instead and with an explosive spending – RM141 million to rear only 8,000 cattles.

Instead of supplying the beef nationwide, it was revealed that Shahrizat family’s own fine-dining restaurants – Meatworks, Senor Santos and Brawns – received some 20 cattle from NFC. It was amusing to read how Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Noh Omar defended the project as a success despite the 2010 Auditor-General’s Report calling it “a mess”. Noh Omar must have taken the convenient way out that as long as there’re couple of thousands of cattle around, the actual proposal can be thrown out of the windows.

To add spices, opposition PKR also alleged that over RM84 million was siphoned off from NFC to companies controlled by Shahrizat’s husband Mohamad Salleh Ismail and her children Izran Mohamad Salleh and Izmir Mohamad Salleh. Of course the final straw that broke the camel’s back came with the revelation that NFC money (public’s fund) was used (by sister company National Livestock and Meats Corporation, NLMC) to purchase RM9.8 million condo at One Menerung, Bangsar, prompting jokes that Malaysian cows are more precious than Japanese’s famous Wagyu cattle which produces the legendary Kobe beef, simply because Malaysian cows stay in luxury condo with its own swimming pool.

Obviously you don’t have to become a rocket scientist to conclude that there’re irregularities in this scandal. Shahrizat was speechless and only managed to respond that she has work hard too and hence deserve to get some government project. But the fact that her whole family is sucking the public’s RM250 million money from NFC (via Shahrizat’s Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd) up to her purchase of the RM10 million condo shows the whole (business)transaction cycles are contaminated with element of corruption. OK, now that MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) found the condo issue was be too hot to handle and passed the ball to police, there could be criminal breach of trust, no?

But the condo purchase was a strategic investment, argued Khairy, another Prime Minister wannabe who doesn’t have any minister portfolio despite being the UMNO Youth Chief. By defending Shahrizat, Khairy was hoping the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development could whisper to PM Najib to shortlist his name for the coming general election. Nonetheless the justification was weak because it’s a well-known fact that property is one of the most illiquid investment instruments. While you can buy and sell shares or stocks with a button, you can’t do so with real property. Heck, the way Malaysian politicians are plundering taxpayer’s money makes even Tajima cattle scrambling to migrate to Malaysia from Hyogo Prefecture.

Uzbekistan Connection !

2011-11-14T01:26:00.000+08:00

World’s worst daughter? – Gulnara Karimova

Corrupt Barisan Nasional l As the saga of Taib and Najib’s global image-building continues to unravel, we can reveal that they not only shared their PR advisors with the notorious dictator of Kazakhstan, but also with the even more horrendous regime of Uzbekistan, where dissidents are boiled alive!

FBC Media’s Italian branch concluded a contract with Gulnara Karimova, the notoriously grasping eldest daughter of the country’s savage dictator, to boost her public image as she attempted to launch a global fashion and pop star career.

: Younger generation – Gulnara likes to be known as an academic and a politician. However, this is how she promotes her singing career!

Gulnara is regarded as ‘the most hated person in Uzbekistan’, according to diplomatic cables released through WikiLeaks, because of her extraordinary raids on the country’s wealth (which includes oil and gas) and her own flamboyant self-promotion.

She is also regarded as her father, President Islam Karimov’s likely successor and the second most powerful person in the country.

When Gulnara divorced her husband, he was immediately stripped of his favoured monopoly over soft drinks in the country (which was given to her). He took refuge in the United States, but 24 members of his family were then arrested and sent at gunpoint over the border into Afghanistan!

She poses in multiple roles as a billionaire business-woman, pop singer, diplomat, government minister, her country’s permanent representative to the UN as well holding a position as a university academic and acting as patron of various organisations – all thanks to her father’s patronage!

: Gulnara showing off her models and designs at Milan Fashion Week

Above all Gulnara wants to be a famous fashion designer and has poured her country’s resources into fashion shows in top locations so she can show-case her talents!

Indeed, Karimova, who has been dubbed ‘The World’s Worst Daughter’, appears to combine plain greed with a burning desire to be considered sexy and artistic, as well as clever. As the pictures below would suggest, Gulnara’s Daddy has provided her with everything, except an ability to see herself as others do!

World’s worst daughter? – Gulnara Karimova

[More of Gulnara's relentless self-promotion and photographs are available on her website and on You Tube]

Unfortunately, this ludicrous self-indulgence has come at the expense of her people, who are kept backward and poor, despite the rich resources of Uzbekistan.

: Showing off her own ‘Uzbek style outfit’

It was a situation FBC Media were clearly happy to take advantage of. In 2009 they accepted 222,000 euros (about a million ringgit) to promote Uzbekistan’s so-called ‘Style US – Art Week”, which mainly provided a platform for Gulnara.

FBC’s duties included organising fashion shows and gourmet dinners and arranging for designers such as Oscar de la Renta and Valentino to appear at the event, along with stars like Sting and Rod Stewart!

The whole contract was eagerly signed by FBC Chairman, Alan Friedman, who was clearly aware that Gulnara’s wealth could buy plenty more such self-promotion. , Gulnara is apparently notorious for demanding a slice of every successful business in the country, providing yet another parallel with Uzbekistan’s model of government and the rapacious regime of the Taib family in Sarawak.

Slave labour and Gulnara’s fashion business

: Decked in jewellry – The Taib family ladies would approve of this ‘soul sister’

Possibly the most controversial aspect of the Uzbek regime is that it remains the only country in the world where the State formally exploits child slave labour. Around 2 million children as young as 7 years old are driven out of school every year and forced into weeks of back-breaking work to bring the cotton harvest, managed by the state.

Despicably, that slave-farmed cotton doubtless supplies much of the material that Gulnara uses for her ‘fashion business’, promoting ‘Uzbek style’ across the world’s catwalks. Her association with such a terrible trade and further accusations by her ex-husband that she has also benefited from a trade in sex-trafficking women of her own country, has led to a series of protests and demonstrations outside her shows in the US and elsewhere.

: One protest against a Gulnara fashion show in the US

Prime client for FBC

With such a terrible reputation plastered all over newspapers and the web and such a desire to be loved and admired, it is no surprise that glamorous Gulnara, with all her millions was beating a track to the door of FBC Media and Alan Friedman’s specialist PR services and crooked programme making.

FBC staff are reported to have been dismayed beyond belief that they were being bullied and cajoled by the aggressive Mr Friedman into presenting Gulanara on global factual TV programmes as if she was a benevolent woman seeking to help the less fortunate women in her country!

But the next contract forged with FBC’s Italian branch did exactly that. No less than three features were contracted for CNBC’s World Business, which FBCproduced to showcase Gulnara and her supposed efforts to help women in her country develop small businesses. None of the movies mentioned the shocking human rights record in the country, of course. FBC Reporter Graham Addicot concentrated on featuring Gulnara as a well-meaning progressive following in the footsteps of Barak Obama!

We can reveal that Gulnara’s government office paid 28,000 euros (around RM 150,000) each for these three movies, making a total of over 80,000 euros (around half a million ringgit).

Milan and the World Economic Forum

: Suave – FBC’s Alan Friedman shows off his best suit at Gulnara’s gala evening in Milan !

FBC were also willing to throw all their other contacts at Gulnara. They managed a gala of Style Uzbek at Milan Fashion week the following year at which Gulnara appeared on stage with her models, showing of her own creations!

Alan Friedman had himself photographed at the occasion and then went further in helping his extremely controversial client to meet up with the ‘great and the good’ of Italian business society by organising a ‘Business Seminar’ event.

Invited attendees included Letizia Morati, the Mayor of Milan, Andrea Goretti of Fininvest Group, top businessman Elio Cosimo Cantania and several other Italian movers and shakers who Gulnara was keen to get into her contacts book as she launched her global fashion plans!

: Posing as a world economic leader on CNBC’s World Business – it cost Gulnara 28,000 euros!

Gulanara’s ambitions went further still, as she clearly sought to promote herself as a world political and business leader as well.

So Friedman again put his carefully cultivated contacts at her disposal, by showcasing her at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he has managed to acquire the status of a ‘Media Leader’.

Naturally, Gulnara managed another appearance on CNBC’s World Business, which FBC Media guaranteed to all its clients. But, Friedman went a step further in arranging a special private meeting between Gulnara and the highly regarded Chief of the WEF, Klaus Schwab! What great PR for the ‘Worst Daughter’ of Uzbekistan. No wonder FBC Media’s clients were happy until the whole crooked set up was exposed.

: Carefully photographed and then posted up on CNBC. Schwab’s meeting with Gulnara – later it apparently continued into a private audience !

It seems extraordinary that such a prestigious world figure as Klaus Schwab, who by definition is knowledgeable about current affairs, allowed himself, like the Italian business leaders, to be introduced by FBC Media to such a person as Gulnara Karimova.

However, it cannot pass un-noticed that in the summer of 2009 Uzbekistan staged an event on the opening day of the summer World Economic Forum in China, featuring ‘Dr Gulnara Karimova’ at the head of an Uzbek Cultural Presentation. Such platforms do not come cheap at such a prestige event as the WEA.

Ku Li: Reforms first, polls later

2011-11-08T21:13:00.000+08:00

Corrupt Barisan Nasional l by: Teoh El Sen - KUALA LUMPUR: The government should reform the electoral system first before calling for the general election, Umno stalwart and Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah) president Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said today.

“We welcome the government’s decision to set up the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). The government must take in all views, including those before Bersih and after, to ensure a free and fair election,” Razaleigh told a press conference at his residence here.

He said that the PSC should be allowed to complete its task expeditiously and all relevant laws amended appropriately and put in place before the general election is called.

Razaleigh, or better known as Ku Li, said that the Bersih 2.0 mass rally on July 9 need not have happened if the government had responded properly.

“I had passed a message to the government asking them to meet with the organisers. What happened was unfortunate; people came out in the thousands despite threats, and it was a mixed crowd too…,” Razaleigh said.

The group’s deputy president Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir added: “There’s talk as if election is going to be held tomorrow. We think the election should be held after PSC has completed its task and its recommendations implemented. Otherwise, there’s no meaning.

“If they hold elections before the PSC had done its job, then it’s like main-main saja (not serious). It’s just drama, and that’s not so nice. We would have preferred a royal commission to look into electoral reforms. The government should be sincere,” said Abdul Kadir, the former tourism minister.

He said that the government is now aware that “these are changed times” and the sovereignty of the people should be respected and taken into account.

He also said that Amanah supported Hulu Selangor MP P Kamalanathan’s suggestion that there should be a “neutral caretaker” government once the government is dissolved for election.

Razaleigh’s call today came amid speculation that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would dissolve the Parliament this Friday (Nov 11), with the general election due to be held on Dec 13.

On speculations that Amanah was planning on becoming a new political party, Razaleigh said that it was formed as an NGO, but did not rule out the possibility of it evolving in future.

“Although many have suggested that Amanah be converted to a political organisation, it was not thought up that way. It will remain a NGO as announced at the launch,” he said.

Razaleigh also revealed that Amanah was officially approved by the Registrar of Societies two weeks ago. “We’re now in business,” he said.

However, he denied any intention to leave Umno, saying: “If I wanted to, I would have said so. Why waste time? BN needs every bit of help to make sure it does well in the general election,” he said.

‘English second most important language’

Describing Amanah as being in the “middle” of the political spectrum, he did not rule out the possibility of its members contesting in the general election.

“Is there a possibility? I’m not saying yes, I’m not saying no… we can’t write off any possibilities,” he said.

Razaleigh added that Amanah would continue to voice out and work on social, economic and political activities that “we think will help the people”.

He also said that Amanah will be launching several “people-oriented” initiatives soon.

He said that a serious reform of the education syestem was needed, but did not state Amanah’s stand on the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English.

“English is a very important subject. If you go back to the Razak report, you will see that English is supposed to be the second (most important) language.

“But we have neglected the English part of the policy which was espoused in 1956. In the Hulu Kelantan area, all the students failed because of English.

“I welcome teaching Science and Mathematics in English, but how do you do it if you don’t have any (competent) teachers?”

Razaleigh also lamented the fact that within BN, there has been less space to voice views and said that the time was ripe for the freedom during Tun Razak’s time to be revived through Amanah.

“We are free. We do not support nor are we against the government. Not mengampu (butter up). We speak according to our conscience,” he said, adding that even Pakatan Rakyat leaders are open to joining Amanah.

“Why use an NGO? Because there’s a ‘GO’ in the word NGO, there is no ‘go’ elsewhere.” But asked if this means he does not have confidence in his own party, Ku Li said: “No, because I’m still in my party, but now we have more space to speak.”

Asked if the government would listen to Amanah since its leaders are “no longer in the top echelon”, Razaleigh said that if the government would not listen, the people would.

Also present at the Amanah press conference were former MCA president Ong Tee Keat and former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam.

Malaysian companies among the worst ‘bribers’

2011-11-02T15:13:00.000+08:00

Corrupt Barisan Nasional l LONDON: Malaysia is ranked 15th when it comes to companies most likely to pay bribes when doing business abroad, a survey suggests.

Malaysia, Hong Kong, Italy and South Africa were in 15th place out of 28 countries in a poll of 3,000 business executives conducted by anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI).

Companies from Russia and China are the most likely to pay bribes and were the top two ‘bribers’.

The Netherlands and Switzerland came top, while the UK ranked eighth, just ahead of the US and France.

Bribery was reportedly most common to win public sector works and construction contracts.

“It is of particular concern that China and Russia are at the bottom of the index,” said TI in its report.

“Given the increasing global presence of businesses from the countries, bribery and corruption are likely to have a substantial impact on societies in which they operate and on the ability of companies to compete fairly in these markets.”

Other major developing economies came much higher up the rankings. India was 19th, while Brazil, in 14th place, was one spot ahead of Italy.

The report called for more international action to outlaw companies from paying bribes in foreign countries.

“G20 governments must tackle foreign bribery as a matter of urgency,” said Huguette Labelle, chair of TI, who said that more resources must be dedicated to investigations and prosecutions.

Linked to corrupt governments
Russia, which came bottom of the league, was seen by TI as a particularly challenging case.

“Unfortunately… there are no islands of integrity in Russian public and business life,” said TI Russian director, Elena Panfilova.

Survey respondents were asked to say how likely companies from each of the foreign countries were to offer back-handers.

Bribe-paying was seen as much more common by businessmen from countries whose governments were also considered to have the least integrity, according to a separate “corruption perceptions” survey carried out by TI last year.

The sector most affected by bribery was public procurement – where companies compete to win contracts from governments for everything from waste collection to road building.

TI noted that the nature of public sector contracts – which are usually large, complex and involve many sub-contractors – makes it much easier to inflate costs and hide inappropriate payments.

However, TI said that paying bribes to win major infrastructure and housing projects “effectively cheats taxpayers out of their money” and can undermine safety standards.

The survey indicated that companies paid bribes almost as routinely to other businesses as they do to government officials.

The mining and the oil and gas sectors – in which Russia and China are most active – also scored low in the poll.

Agriculture was considered the least bribe-prone, while banking ranked the fourth least-corrupt out of 19 industries.

Bribe Rankings – worst offenders last
1. Netherlands, Switzerland

3. Belgium

4. Germany, Japan

6. Australia, Canada

8. Singapore, UK

10. US

11. France, Spain

13. South Korea

14. Brazil

15. Hong Kong, Italy, Malaysia, South Africa

19. India, Turkey

22. Saudi Arabia

23. Argentina, UAE

25. Indonesia

26. Mexico

27. China

28. Russia

- Agencies

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Bengoh natives still blur about compensation package

2011-11-01T18:16:00.000+08:00

Corrupt Barisan Nasional l KUCHING: The Sarawak government must pay the families and villagers who are affected by the construction of the Bengoh Dam adequate compensation that takes into account their immediate and long term needs.

Making this call, a former diplomat John Tenewi Nuek said the villagers had made a “tremendous and invaluable sacrifice” in leaving their ancestral sites.

“The affected villagers are making tremendous and invaluable sacrifices for the construction of the dam and it is only fair and just that they be given a comprehensive, adequate and fair package of compensation that takes into account their short-term as well as their long-term interests.

“All efforts must be taken to ensure that they don’t end up poorer and more marginalised.

“The mistakes of the Batang Ai and Bakun dams must not be repeated,” said Tenewi who is also a Sarawak PKR vice president.

Tenewi was responding to Bengoh assemblyman Jerip Susil’s rebut of the Auditor General’s Report 2010.

The report had stated, among others, that the resettlement location identified for natives affected by the construction of the RM315 million Bengoh Dam to be ‘unsuitable’ and ‘questionable’.

AG’s ‘outdated’ knowledge

Susil clarified that AG Report saying that the fact was outdated and that the report was based on the ‘initial site and not the present one’.

Susil who is State Assistant Public Health Minister said the original site was near Kampung Bayur whilst the present site was between Semadang in Penrissen and Ski-o in Bau.

“We were informed that initial proposed resettlement site near Bayur was not suitable because the area was too hilly.

“That was why the present site between Semadang in Penrissen and Ski-o in Bau was then proposed,” he reportedly said.

Under the resettlement scheme, the 394 families and the 1,595 villagers from Kampung Taba Sait, Bojong, Pain, Rejoi and Semban would be given free houses and acres of land per family in the new location.

However Susil did not reveal details of the housing facilities.

A disappointed Tenawi said Susil’s comment was “vague and misleading”.

“Jerip (Susil)’s statement is very disappointing to say the least. It was vague and misleading.

“Even at this point when the dam is about to be impounded, Jerip (Susil) could not say what size of land and what type of houses would be given to these villagers.

“He said only they would be given ‘free houses and acres of land per family’.

“This is totally unacceptable.

“Instead of only vague and misleading promises the villagers by now should already know the exact compensations that would be given to them,” said Tenawi.

Compensation still not finalised

He said that under ‘normal’ circumstances, a project developer would have determined and finalised the compensation package before commencement of work on the project.

“Indeed, the compensation package should have been determined and finalised before the decision was made whether or not to build the dam,” he said.

He hoped the villagers, many of whom have big belian houses, would not have to move into homes which are “slightly better than chicken sheds”.

‘Monument of Corruption’ still gets flak

2011-10-27T16:46:00.000+08:00

Corrupt Barisan Nasional l by M Jegathesan

BAKUN DAM: The first turbine is spinning, electricity is pulsing out, and the water level is climbing in the Borneo jungle behind Malaysia’s huge US$2.2 billion Bakun hydroelectric dam.

But questions continue to swirl around the viability of a project described by critics as a graft-plagued human and ecological disaster – and as opposition mounts against a dozen other planned dams in Sarawak.

The first turbine from French giant Alstom began producing electricity in August and the dam’s reservoir has swelled to the size of Singapore since impoundment began a year ago.

After years of warnings about the impact on Sarawak’s pristine jungles and the forced removal of thousands of local tribespeople, the dam’s head Zulkifle Osman sees light at the end of the tunnel.

During a tour of the facility, the managing director of Sarawak Hidro, who has overseen construction since 2000, defended the dam despite an electricity surplus in the state and the lack of a market for its power.

“It is a chicken-and-egg game,” Zulkifle told AFP.

“I am confident there will be a lot of demand for electricity in Sarawak.”

But dam opponents say the situation confirms warnings about Bakun as an ill-planned and unnecessary boondoggle.

The facility is located on the Balui River, a mighty waterway that drains a vast rainforested area of northern Borneo – home to orangutan, spotted leopards, rare plants, and a renowned biodiversity.

White elephant

The project was first approved in 1986 under then-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad as a cheap electricity source for more-developed peninsular Malaysia even though the country is a net oil and natural gas exporter.

But in a 2005 report, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International termed the dam one of the world’s “Monuments of Corruption,” citing years of delays, ownership changes, and overall costs that more than doubled.

“No users have made any legal written commitment for the usage of the energy,” said Elli Luhat, a former Sarawak forestry official, now an environmental activist.

“I have a real fear that Bakun dam will one day become a white elephant.”

Tribal residents say warnings about the dam’s ecological and human impact are coming true.

Residents living in the shadow of the dam, one of the world’s highest at 205 metres (673 ft), say the river’s biodiversity has degenerated, fish catches have plunged, and once-clean waters smell foul and are unsafe to drink.

Silting has occurred, inhibiting navigation in the river, natives say.

Climbing into his boat in Uma Nyaving village about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Bakun, Kayan tribesman Richard Let complained of the thinning fish numbers.

“Now there is not enough for my family and the fish are small. The river is choking under silt and is making it difficult to fish with our boats,” said Let, 31.

Rampant poverty

Downstream from the dam, nearly 12,000 indigenous Kayan, Kenyah, Ukit and Penan people live in traditional wooden longhouses in a resettlement area in the town of Sungai Asap. Their ancestal homes are now underwater.

They enjoy amenities unknown when they dwelt in the forest – piped water, electricity, schools, Internet access and health services.

But Bulan Merang, 43, who moved to Sungai Asap 12 years ago, struggles to feed her eight children amid high food prices and new social strains.

“Children no longer respect their elders. Even my 21-year-old son says I am a useless woman whenever he gets drunk,” she said.

The tribes, who previously grew rice and bananas and hunted wild boar, say their new land is infertile. Age-old hunting grounds are submerged and they must purchase staple foods.

“We were not dependent on money (before). Here everything is money,” Bulan added.

Ironically, Sungai Asap’s electricity comes not from Bakun but from a huge diesel-powered generator – the dam’s electricity is sent away on power lines criss-crossing the green terrain, headed to a state grid already at capacity.

Sarawak is rich in natural resources but poverty is rampant. Its leaders are keen to diversify from mining, agriculture and forestry and into high-tech industries and say ample power sources are needed to lure foreign investment.

“I am confident the power from Bakun will be taken up. MITI (the Ministry of International Trade and Industry) is working hard to get investors,” Zulkifle said.

Grandiose projects

Zulkifle brushed aside concerns over the safety of Bakun, one of the world’s largest rock-filled embankment dams, calling it “sound.”

He said released water was treated to ensure it was clean and denied corruption allegations.

“All the money that is paid is audited. We are scrutinised,” he said.

The dam was meant to help cut Malaysia’s dependence on oil and gas for electricity generation. Up to 90 percent of output was to be sent to more industrialised peninsular Malaysia via undersea cables.

But economic downturns over the years forced protracted construction delays and shuffling of contractors, and the cable plan was shelved on cost concerns.

The Malaysian chapter of Friends of the Earth says nearly a quarter of electricity capacity in Sarawak already is unused, noting that the country as whole also has an electricity surplus.

The planned eight turbines will have a capacity of 2,400 megawatts when installed by 2014. Current Sarawak demand is 1,000 MW.

Then-finance minister Anwar Ibrahim suspended the Bakun dam and other big schemes in 1998 amid a regional financial crisis, angering Mahathir, who was known for backing grandiose projects.

It was revived in 1999 after Anwar was ousted in a falling-out with Mahathir, with Sarawak Hidro acquiring the project from original private Malaysian developer Ekran.

The dam’s capacity remains far too much for Sarawak and only the undersea cable could salvage its viability, said Anwar, now opposition leader.

“Otherwise we will have a white elephant. Sarawak does not need all that power,” he told AFP.

Despite the Bakun controversy, the state has plans for a dozen more dams, angering local tribes.

There are about 200 cases in Malaysian courts brought by indigenous people fighting state acquisition of their land for dams, timber concessions, or other developments.

-AFP

BYE BYE SARAWAK REPORTS!

2011-10-14T13:40:00.000+08:00

Corrupt Barisan Nasional l Taib Mahmud’s $5million dollar a year ‘Cyber-war Campaign’ has conceded a humiliating defeat, with the final demise of the site ‘Sarawak Reports’.

Sarawak Reports was part of a vicious network of internet sites, set up by the crooked UK-based production FBC Media, in a hired attempt to undermine this blog and to attack the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

By adopting a virtually identical name to our own, FBC clearly hoped they could confuse web-surfers into reading their pro-Taib propaganda, instead of our research into Taib’s 30 years of corrupt government.

However, there is little evidence that readers were in fact fooled but this costly exercise. The site never dared to publish the handful of comments it received for its stories, which were little more than dreary ‘puff pieces’ praising Taib’s ‘progress and development’ policies.

The site also carried a permanent section devoted to attacking the Editor of Sarawak Report and family members.

: Black propaganda – who did they think they were kidding?

Collapse of Cyber-war campaign follows exposure of FBC Media

After Sarawak Report started to investigate, the whole truth behind the scandal came out. We showed how FBC Media had commissioned a team of Republican bloggers in the States to write a series of attacking articles in a supposedly non-sponsored website called New Ledger.

: First put it on the USA’s New Ledger to give it credibility – then place it in Sarawak Reports!

These articles, by unheard of Americans, were then reproduced in Sarawak Reports as if they represented influential thinking in the US.

Worse, we discovered a similar campaign was being carried out by the very same people against the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, and this time the person who commissioned the attacks was the PM himself, Najib Razak!

The scurrilous articles about Anwar, written for New Ledger by non-entities in the States, were being reproduced in a separate blog called Malaysia Watcher. Just this week the PM was forced to admit that his office has spentRM 84 million on such campaigns with FBC Media in just three years!

We can now report that Malaysia Watcher is likewise no longer accessible.

Who is Rachel Motte? She stopped writing for New Ledger after we exposed the FBC-lined campaign

Furthermore, since our exposes in late July, New Ledger has ceased publishing any stories about Malaysia, Sarawak Report or Anwar Ibrahim. In June approximately half of all the articles written for this supposedly US-focused website had consisted of attacks on Anwar and SR, which were then being reproduced in Malaysia Watcher and Sarawak Reports!

Illegal TV programmes commissioned by Taib and Najib

: TV lies – Taib bought the slot as advertising!

Of course, the most sensational part of the whole affair has been the revelation that FBC also did deals with both Najib and Taib to place promotional TV films about them and about BN’s policies on some of the world’s most respected news channels, including the BBC and CNBC.

FBC held production contracts for a number of supposedly objective news shows and documentary series and the company was illegally selling the airtime as advertising space for high-spending politicians and companies, including Malaysia and the palm oil industry.

Sarawak Report even gained copies of the contract between FBC’s Chairman, Alan Friedman and Taib, in which the Chief Minister was promised a series of opportunities to improve his bad reputation on human rights and the environment.

"Let's shake hands on it" - Najib has paid Alan Friedman's FBC Media RM 84 million to break broadcasting rules in a series of TV "puff pieces" and interviews.

One of these films, aired on CNBC’s World Business (a show produced by FBC Media), claimed that 80% of Sarawak’s forests have been left undamaged and untouched by Taib’s logging and oil palm plantations!

After Sarawak Report broke the scandal, both BBC World and CNBC terminated all contracts with FBC Media, pending investigations.

The UK regulatory authority Ofcom is also conducting a full-scale investigation into how politicians like Taib and Najib were able to spend millions of their own taxpayers’ money on such vanity TV projects, which was against broadcasting laws.

So, the FBC Media expose has meant a set-back not just for Taib’s ‘Cyber Campaign’, but for his whole ‘Global Media Strategy’, into which he has poured millions of taxpayers’ hard earned money.

Najib has likewise been exposed for the same misjudgement and complicity in the corruption of respected international TV stations, all at the enormous expense of public funds!

What about CNN?

: Back reporting Malaysia for CNN – did John Defterios mention to CNN bosses back in 2010 that he was President of FBC, which had received RM 84 million to promote Malayisa? CNN so far says it isn’t relevant!

Sarawak Report and other news media in the UK and US are awaiting the final reports of Ofcom, The BBC and CNBC into these scandals.

Meanwhile, the position of CNN still remains highly questionable. Because this station was also carrying programmes featuring Najib and other FBC clients at a time when FBC’s President, John Defterios was anchoring the relevant CNN shows and programmes.

CNN has so far claimed that it is not prepared to investigate such placement of FBC clients on their shows or the connection with Mr Defterios, because it says John Defterios had already resigned from FBC when he became a staff presenter in March of this year.

In fact the records show that Mr Defterios did not resign until 4 days AFTER our expose on FBC in Sarawak Report! Indeed, just three weeks previously he had aired a much-criticised interview with Najib Razak for CNN, letting him off far too lightly over the treatment of the Bersih rally, according to many commentators.

Under US broadcasting laws any such conflicts of interest should be openly declared, whether or not the interested members of the production team are on contract or staff. For this reason Sarawak Reports is reporting CNN to Ofcom for its refusal to examine the potential corruption of its content by a current senior member of its staff.

Lynn Fritz - fellow FBC Board Member and shareholder. FBC President, John Defterios, was happy to promote him on his shows!

Not over yet

The PM and CM’s global strategic media strategies may now be in tatters, and the attack sites Sarawak Reports and Malaysia Watcher may be finished. New Ledger may also have gone back to attacking US Democrats instead of Malaysian liberals, however there is plenty to go on this story.

Armed with taxpayers cash, it seems more than likely that Taib and Najib will be already going about planning how to come back with a second wave of ‘media warfare’ against those who are seeking to expose corruption in Malaysia.

But, chances are they will be wasting that cash once again, because once the truth is out it is impossible to hide.

RAZIAH GRABS MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR FOREST FOR JUST RM 250!

2011-10-14T13:30:00.000+08:00

Victims of the Land Grab - Ibans of Kampong Ensika

Corrupt Barisan Nasional l In an act of breathtaking meanness and greed the multi-billionaire Taib family are seeking to deprive impoverished Ibans of one of Sarawak’s last remaining hardwood forests, for a paltry compensation of just RM250 per family.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Report has received exclusive new leaks which indicate that the Chief Minister himself stands to personally profit by a million times that amount (an estimated RM250,000,00) in corrupt backhanders from the deal.

Raziah Mahmud and Quality Concrete Holdings

This latest illegal raid on Native Customary Rights Land is being carried out byQuality Concrete Holdings Berhad, a company part-owned and directed by the Chief Minister’s own sister, Raziah Mahmud. The Taibs, one of the richest families in Asia, have already started harvesting the timber, which is worth millions of US dollars, even though the majority of the villagers are refusing to accept the deal.

“We have been threatened that if we oppose this claim we are going against the government and opposing development” explained one protester, “but why does the government act like a common thief in this case and how much development can we achieve for RM 250?”.

Already driving into the forest without permission

The threatened area is a small range of hills near Sebangan not far from Kuching, consisting of 3,305 hectares of forest. The surrounding region has already been devastated by state-sponsored logging promoted by the Taibs in the 80s and 90s.

However until now it was not considered economic to tackle the raised ground, which has been farmed and hunted for generations by 16 villages of Iban dwellers.

The villagers explain that the area is carpeted by hundreds of thousands of tall trees, some of it valuable primary jungle containing hardwoods that are now painfully scarce. The Secretary General of the Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) Nicholas Mujah, who comes from the community, says that there are up to 700 tons of Belian, Meranti, Bulyan, Selangan, Kapur, Kempas, Tekam, Resak, Lon, Penyau, Ruan and Engkaban available per hectare. These all command top prices in the world market, although the logging of such rare timber is now internationally condemned.

The area is also a refuge for some of Sarawak’s remaining wildlife and birdlife, much of which has been wiped out by the Taibs over the past 30 years.

Corruption and conflict of interest

Conveniently on the Board - Raziah Mahmud, Taib's sister

The Iban owners of the forest say they are happy to conserve the wood for future generations and to conduct sustainable logging for their needs. However, the aging Chief Minister, who has already earned billions out of corrupt logging deals seems to have been unable to resist the prospect of grabbing more money by cutting it all down.

In this case, like so many others, he has used a relative, his sister Raziah Mahmud, to conduct the plunder. Raziah is a shareholder and paid Non-Executive Director of Quality Concrete Holdings, a public company largely owned by the family of Tiang Ming Sing and Tiang Ming Kok (the Chairman and Managing Director). She is therefore directly profiting from her connections with the Chief Minister, who hands out all timber licences.

The CM’s cut will be at least MR250 million - Exclusive new Revelations

However, following new leaks, Sarawak Report is now able to further reveal an even more shocking form of corruption involved in the deal. Top timber company insiders have exclusively confided to Sarawak Report that before issuing any timber licence the Chief Minister always demands an extra secret cut, to be paid upfront into one of his offshore bank accounts.

: MR250 million? Not bad, even for a multi-billionaire Chief Minister!

The insiders say that Taib traditionally demands a rate of RM 100 per ton of timber. However, in this latest case the sum is likely to be substantially larger, given the value of the hardwoods at the Sebangan reserve.

According to the whistle-blowers, the Chief Minister calculates his cut by getting State Forest Department officials to assess how much timber is available in each concession.

So, if the 3,305 hectare Sebangan forest contains 700 tons of wood per hectare, this would mean that Taib will have bagged just under 250 million ringgit from issuing the licence. That is well over $80 million US dollars at current exchange rates and is almost exactly a million times the amount being offered to the Iban families who rightfully own the land!

Even on a more conservative estimate of 50 tons per hectare Taib would stand to illegally profit by nearly MR17 million. Sarawak Report would therefore like to ask Quality Concrete to confirm if they have yet made such an up front payment or if they are paying part up front and part later, which is sometimes the arrangement, or whether they are claiming that on this occasion they have been for some reason let off the payment?

Robbing his people blind

Simple people robbed of their heritage

Such miserable deals have been the pattern by which the Chief Minister has deprived numerous communities in Sarawak of billions and billions of ringgit-worth of timber and made himself one of the richest men in Asia. Instead of going into promised development the money has gone into Taib’s foreign bank accounts, leaving the people of Sarawak among the poorest in Malaysia, despite their rich natural resources.

Strong-arm tactics – lies and thugs

In this latest case the Taibs are again attempting to abuse their control of state officials and adopting strong-arm tactics to force the unwilling villagers to hand over their forest, firstly through misrepresenting the terms of their licence.

The truth - Raziah's conditional licence expires in two months!

Quality Concrete have in truth, only been issued a conditional year-long Occupation Certificate to log the timber, for the very reason that this is Native Customary Rights (NCR) Land.

This certificate has been issued under Section B of the Forest Ordinance, which specifically means that Quality Concrete need to achieve the consent of the Iban landowners before commencing any logging.

However, Raziah and her business cronies have of course done no such thing, because they know that such consent would either be withheld or would only come at a reasonable price for the land! They have instead sought to imply that they are fully licenced to strip the forest.

No warning and no permission asked

“Nobody warned or consulted us about anything” explains Sadun Ason, the Headman of Kampong Ensika, one of the affected communities. “The first I knew of it was when a villager called me to say he had seen logging equipment being shipped up river by boat on 11th July. We then immediately called the Pengulu, who astonishingly said he knew all about it and told us that there is nothing we can do to protest, as the whole matter is perfectly legal and we have no rights!”

Traditional meeting - community representatives discuss the crisis

The 16 villages involved are rightly suspicious of this Pengulu. Taib undermined democracy in when he removed the right of longhouses to elect their own headmen and Pengulus and started to appoint these ‘representatives’ himself.

He pays them a miserable monthly salary to keep them loyal. Nevertheless, these characters usually still come from the local community and are accepted by the residents.

However, in this case a new Pengulu was appointed a few weeks before the issuing of Razia’s logging licence. He is a PBB member from an outside town. The headmen are naturally furious he kept them in the dark about Quality Concrete’s plans and the previous Pengulu has also testified against such behaviour and joined their protest.

“If there is anything that relates to the joint ownership of the forest the Pengulu should discuss the matter with the headmen and likewise the headmen would talk to their villagers. All these resources are shared resources and it is not right for the Pengulu to make a decision, especially such an important decision on his own”, says Ason emphatically. “Rightfully, the Pengulu and headmen should be the ones to protect the forest, but we end up fighting him”.

Deceitful tactics by the loggers and their official backers

Coming down - logging of valuable wood has started

The villagers have tried to blockade the site and have demanded proper information and paper-work from Quality Concrete. But Raziah and her co-directors have been characteristically unforthcoming. Outrageously, they have also started driving a road into the territory and harvesting valuable timber in the process.

At a meeting organised by the police on 2nd July, officials from the Forestry Department and Land Survey Department showed their bias by meeting first, separately with the representatives of Quality Concrete and their lawyers, along with the suspect Pengulu.

The officials then came out and claimed to the villagers that the land was not gazetted and claimed there was no evidence the area was NCR land. However, Sarawak Report has obtained evidence proving this claim was untrue. In fact the Land Registry’s own records show that the land has been gazetted since 1956 and is indeed Native Customary Rights Land. The licence Quality Concrete has been given is subject to any NCR claims. Meanwhile, internal documents from the Forestry Department also show that officials have now instructed Quality Concrete not to encroach on the vast majority of the area contained in the provisional licence unless and until the dispute has been settled.

Gazetted since 1956 - this proof of NCR status came from the Land Registry!

Sarawak Report has copies of all these documents, however in typical fashion the officials on the ground, working with Raziah Taib and Quality Concrete and their lawyers, have attempted to conceal these facts from the villagers.

Bullying into submission

Meanwhile the timber company and Pengulu have been working hard to browbeat and divide the community into submission. They have gone around all the longhouses offering MR25o ‘compensation payment’ to each family prepared to sign away their rights to the forest and MR800 to each headman. This may be a laughable sum, but Taib has kept his people financially poor for a very good reason – it makes them easier to rob of their natural wealth.

On 13th August a group of 11 villagers including three of the 16 headmen were transported in Quality Concrete’s own vehicles to Sibu, where they were given a reception and dinner and then asked to sign documents in the absence of any legal representative. They were not given copies of the documents to bring back, but they were told that they have now legally signed away their rights to the forest.

Dirt poor - this family took the money

These headmen have now gone round other long houses and persuaded a number of the desperately poor villagers that, since they have no choice in the matter (not true), they had better take what money is available to them.

A minority of the villagers have now been persuaded to go to the nearby town of Sebuyau and sign away their claims for a mere MR250. They had no legal representative and have been offered no copies of the documents they signed – most are illiterate.

“The worst thing about it is that it has divided the villages in such a terrible way”, says Numpang Suntai who has been helping coordinate the protests. “Some are so brow-beaten and poor they feel they must accept the money, but the others know that in the long-term the consequences will be terrible for us. We look at neighbouring areas where this has happened and we know we will suffer. We won’t have any wood, our land will be taken, the wildlife will be gone, the water of the river will be affected and the fish will all die. We will be hungry. Our life is tough and we have no real income, so we depend on the forest”.
Aware of the consequences - Numpang Suntai, local campaigner
Numpang dismisses the idea that there might be jobs and development. “There will be no jobs at all, they use Indonesians to cut down the forest and Indonesians to work on the palm plantations. They only offer MR7 a day to work on palm plantations and we can’t live on that. The Indonesians find it worth it, because of the exchange rate for them”.

A fit leader for Sarawak?

Taib of course believes that he will triumph in this matter. The fight for Sebangan’s final forest has reached a critical stage, which he, his sister and their timber company collaborators have experienced many times before. They have all the finance, the official backing and of course, access to intimidation as well.

The villagers are already fearfully expecting the arrival of the notorious logging company ‘thugs’, the strongmen who so often come to intimidate local communities who hold out against them. Meanwhile, the Pengulu and the logging company legal teams are misleadingly informing the protesters that because some people have now signed it will be impossible to stop the logging.

Campaigning on landrights - PKR's office in Kuching

There is still hope for justice

However, signs are that people are waking up to the Chief Minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud. It will be interesting to see whether the new information revealing the true extent of Taib’s personal profit from this raid - his MR250 million cut -will alter the dynamics of this particular forest battle.

Sarawak Report will also be forwarding the inside leaks from the Land Survey Department and Forestry Department to the legal team, headed by Baru Bian in Kuching.

Baru, who is Sarawak’s top human rights lawyer and the PKR leader in the state, has started to win significant court victories against Taib in the local and federal courts .

Agent for Change - Baru in campaigning dress at his desk

Taib’s last grasp?

This scandalous case will join over 200 other native land rights cases on his desk, all of which directly challenge the Taib family’s devastating plunder of the state.

Most importantly, the Chief Minister will soon have to face the electorate with a record that no politician on earth would wish to have to defend.

‘Let’s discuss Taib’s wealth’

2011-10-12T18:11:00.000+08:00

Corrupt Barisan Nasional l KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak’s two sole opposition MPs today filed an emergency motion with the Speaker’s Office for Parliament to be adjourned to discuss the ongoing global investigations into Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s wealth.

Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen and Sibu parliamentarian Wong Ho Leng are seeking to discuss the matter tomorrow.

Taib’s business links and wealth is currently under probe in Switzerland, Germany and Australia. There have also been moves to urge the Canadian and British governments to do the same.

The Swiss-based Bruno Manser Fund has identified and blacklisted 49 companies based in eight countries which are linked to Taib.

The fund alleged that Taib’s wealth was derived from the massive deforestation of the Sarawak forest which had resulted in widespread displacement of its native indigenous communities.

In parliament today, Chong, who is also Sarawak DAP secretary, highlighted that Taib was the only minister whose wealth was under probe by three international governments – Switzerland, Germany and Australia.

“This is the first time a Chief Minister from Malaysia has been the subject of investigation by other governments on corruption and money-laundering charges.

“This has tainted our country’s good name and embarrassed the government,” he told a press conference.

Taib denies claims

He added that Taib and his family members have, over the past 30 years, amassed a fortune for themselves, while the state remained as the fourth backward state in the country.

In May this year, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) said it was investigating Taib’s assets in Switzerland.

The move was said to have been at the instigation of Swiss president Micheline Calmy-Rey.

In June this year during a state assembly sitting Taib had briefly denied that had a secret Swiss bank account.

He also denied having any assets or investments of any description in Switzerland.

He also said that he would write to Calmy-Rey confirming if an investigation is underway.

Barely months after that, in September, the German government had launched an investigation into allegations that its Deutsche Bank was involved in dubious dealings with Taib.

The German authorities have also been asked to freeze Taib’s assets in Germany.

No updates from MACC

In late September, BMF had written a letter to the Australian Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd informing him of alleged corrupt activities.

The government responded saying that it took the matter seriously and will refer the matter to its Attorney-General’s office.

Chong today also lamented the fate of the internal investigation on abuse of power and corruption on Taib.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) announced earlier in April that it will investigate the numerous reports made against Taib.

However todate there has been no updates on the MACC investigation.

Authorities ignore Taib-linked company’s faults

2011-09-24T11:28:00.000+08:00

Corrupt Barisan Nasional l KUCHING: The contractors of a RM50 million flyover project here is flouting the law but the authorities appear reluctant to act, according to Sarawak DAP.

The party is now questioning the manner in which the construction of the Jalan Tun Jugah flyover is being carried out.

The contract was awarded to a company which is allegedly connected to family of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

Not surprising because the bulk of major contracts here are handed out to either Cahaya Mata Sarawak (CMS) or Naim Holdings which in turn subcontract it out to other Taib family or crony linked companies. Both CMS are Naim are directly linked to Taib.

State DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen said the company awarded with the flyover contract seems to be ‘above the law’.

“The company seems to be above the law as it does not follow guidelines, procedures and security requirements set out by Public Works Department.

“We have received so many complaints from the public regarding the slowness of the project, the lack of planning, and the manner in which it is carried out disregarding the safety of road users, the traffic jams that it caused.

“There are no signboards to notify road users of the details of the project such as the name of the contractors, developers, engineers, and so on.

“The public want to know who are the contractors, the engineers, and the developers are,” Chong said.

He said even the buffer zone which is mandatory in such construction was inadequate.

Alongside these inadequacies were the streets lights along the road which were not working and which posed ‘a great danger’ to motorist at night and especially when it rains.

No engineers or supervisors

A visibly unhappy Chong was speaking to reporters after visiting the site of the project together with Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong.

“We cannot find the supervisor or engineer.

“I was told that the engineer or supervisor came in for a short while in the morning and by 10.00 am he had left the site already.

“All we see are workers of the sub-contractors, and as there is no supervisor, the road users feel insecure when they pass the construction site where there are piling machines and cranes lifting metals and heavy objects.

“There are machineries like excavators left idle at the site,” said Chong, who is Kota Sentosa assemblyman.

He said for a project that costed RM50 million, there should be proper procedures.

” This is totally unacceptable. It seems that the contractor is above the law.

“Why isn’t the Public Works Department and the City Council taking any action?

“Are they scared of the powers-that-be, which are behind the contractor?” he asked adding that one of the company’s directors is Taib’s sister.

Chong, who is also the MP for Bandar Kuching, said that he had written a month ago to the director of Public works Department regarding complaints on the project.

“But to date the director has not replied my letter.

“Nevertheless, we will see the director next week. We are making that arrangement,” he said.

TAIB NAMED IN UK PARLIAMENT

2011-09-21T12:55:00.000+08:00

Corrupt Barisan Nasional l Knowledge and concern about the timber corruption associated with Sarawak’s Chief Minister is now spreading to the UK.

Last week his name was raised in the UK Parliament’s upper chamber, The House of Lords, after a question had been asked of the Government to give an assessment of the impact of logging on indigenous people, plants and animal life.

Present to answer the question was one of the Government Ministers from the Department for International Development (DFID), Baroness Verma.

: The question asked in the House of Lords on Tuesday

The Baroness answered that the UK Government is well aware of the concern about unrestrained logging and how it impoverishes around a billion people on the planet.

Baroness Verma: My Lords, more than 1 billion people depend in varying degrees on the forests for their livelihoods with many more depending on the ecosystem services they provide. Some 350 million people who live within or adjacent to dense forests depend on them to a high degree for subsistence and income. Degradation and deforestation cause a loss of between $2 trillion and $4.5 trillion per year in ecosystems goods and services.

Lord St John of Bletso

: Rainforest campaigner – Crossbencher (attached to no party) Lord St John

One of the best known campaigners for Rainforests in the Lords then raised the issue of Abdul Taib Mahmud and his effect on Sarawak and its people. To cries of “Hear, hear”, he rose to ask:

“My Lords, can the noble Baroness give any indication as to whether our Government will be following the moves by Switzerland and Germany to investigate money-laundering of the proceeds of timber corruption by the chief minister of Sarawak in Malaysia? What other measures are being taken to identify and sanction those large international logging companies which do not ensure best practice in sustainable logging?”

The Baroness replied that although she could not respond on a particular individual, the mechanisms are in place to deal with timber corruption:

“I would like to say to noble Lords that we are ensuring that we respond proactively to the difficulties we are all facing with this issue. The multinational companies that deal in illegal logging will find that the penalties for this will be severe.” [link to the debate]

Taib’s assets in the UK

Ridgeford Properties' portfolio in London belongs to the Taibs

The mention represents a set-back for the Chief Minister, whose family assets are extensive in the UK. Timber corruption campaigners have already prompted money laundering investigations in Switzerland and Germany, as referred to in the Lords debate.

Last week also Canadian Government acknowledged that it too is aware of the fact that the Taib family have hundreds of millions of dollars of property assets in North America. While it has refused to confirm or deny any investigation at this stage, a top executive of Canada’s Department of Justice told the Bruno Manser Fund that:

“The RCMP(Royal Canadian Mounted Police)’s Integrated Market Enforcement Team is a group of highly acknowledged specialized investigators that are dedicated to ensuring that those who commit serious capital markets fraud offences will be discovered, investigated, prosecuted, and incarcerated in an effective and timely fashion“

The Bruno Manser Foundation have indicated that they will shortly be likewise approaching the UK authorities to urge an investigation into Ridgeford Properties in London, which has also handled hundreds of millions of pounds worth of assets, including a large period building adjacent to the Bank of England.

Less welcome in future?

Protest in Oxford against Taib's visit last year

Last year the Chief Minister engineered a reception at the House of Lords during his visit to the UK to promote his Tanjung Manis Halal Hub. He also sponsored an event at the controversial Said Business School at Oxford University, at which he was a key note speaker.

Both these promotions attracted considerable condemnation, given the Chief Minister’s record, and it is unlikely that he would receive similar welcomes in future.