The decades-long rape of the Penan women will come back with a vengeance to haunt Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, predicts PKR's Zuraida Kamaruddin who told Malaysia Chronicle that her party has picked a woman candidate to face him in the coming state polls.
The all-powerful Taib may use the might of his fabulous wealth, but already-to-the-brim anger at his alleged corruption and neglect of his people may finally seal his ouster, and deliver the justice owed to the thousands of tribal women raped through the years by illegal loggers linked to him.
"PKR has appointed a woman candidate to contest him. We wonder if he will dare to contest. I don't think he will because he knows he has no chance of winning," challenged Zuraida, the head of the PKR women's wing.
Fantastic wealth
The are 71 seats in the Sarawak state legislative assembly that will be contested in elections that must be held by July this year, including Taib's own Balingian stronghold.
He has already given up his Kota Samarahan parliamentary seat to his son Sulaiman in 2008 and calls are now escalating, even from the federal government in Kuala Lumpur, for him to step down from 'front-line' political life.
But those who know him say it would be difficult for him to relinquish his hold on the Sarawak state government, which he has headed since 1981.
So far, his sons are known more for their jet-setting life-styles and fondness for women rather than commitment to political work and serving the people.
An often-repeated example is the curious absence of Sulaiman, who did not even attend his father's recent wedding. And despite being an MP, no one has seen Sulaiman for nearly a year now.
As for Mahmud Abu Bekir, his eldest son, it would be tough for him to gain any form of credibility after his first wife Shahnaz A Majid filed a RM400million divorce suit against him earlier this week.
Not only did the bombshell singe Taib's hopes for his first-born, but should the case go to trial, details of their wealth will be laid bare to the public.
"The divorce case will be very messy and everyone will be watching all the fine print about how fantastic the amount of money they have amassed and how the Taib boys behave in their private lives. It is bad news for Taib and BN, but good news for us in the opposition," PKR vice president Baru Bian told Malaysia Chronicle.
Close an eye and lose humanity
Taib's daughter-in-law is seeking RM300 million for the assets the couple accumulated in their 19-year marriage and a further RM100 million in compensation. She has cited irreconcilable differences and her husband's failure to have sex with her since 2001 as reasons for the divorce.
But while Taib, who himself recently got married to a 29-year old Lebanese air stewardess, may not be able to control his sons, the final straw is likely to come from the Penan rape issue.
"Sarawakians are aware of the type of luxury the Taibs have been enjoying and the way they treat their women. They will compare this with the plight of the Penan women - maybe this is why no action has been taken for decades," said Zuraida.
"But are our women such cheap commodities - this is the question Sarawakians and Malaysians must ask themselves and then vote with the justice in their hearts. We must no longer close an eye or lose our own humanity."
You help me, I help you
PKR leaders also had harsh words for Prime Minister Najib Razak's federal government. Despite the release of an official report that found evidence of rape, Najib and his Cabinet have refused to act.
Sarawak not only contributes an enormous percentage of revenue to the federal government and to the coffers of ruling party Umno, Najib also needs the parliamentary seats from the state to cling to power.
If Taib and his team in BN are voted out, Najib's own days in the federal capital will be numbered.
"Najib's favourite phrase is, You help me, I help you. That is why he is helping Taib and Taib is helping him. But both of them are not helping the Penan women or the Sarawak people," Batu MP Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
Huge tracts of Sarawak's rain forests have been depleted through uncontrolled logging so much so a huge 'hole' can be seen from aerial shots taken of the state.
Monstrously rich logging firms such as Samling and other crony syndicates have been given the go-ahead in areas that are officially closed to others. - Malaysia Chronicle
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