Will Taib field his 'wife-torturer' son in Sarawak polls

Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud is keeping mum on whether his eldest son Mahmud Abu Bekir will be fielded as the BN candidate for Sadong Jaya in the coming 10th state election.

Speaking to reporters after receiving a courtesy call from Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) led by it president Patrick Liew at his office in Kuching today, Abdul Taib said, the Sadong Jaya candidate as well as other BN candidates would only be known on nomination day.

"I will make the final decision and recommendations to the prime minister," he said when commenting on the call by 113 residents from 13 villagers from Sadong Jaya, a BN stronghold, who wanted Mahmud as their representative, replacing incumbent Wan Wahab Wan Sanusi.

Abdul Taib, who is Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) president and Sarawak BN chairperson, said this was not the first time BN supporters had lobbied for Mahmud's nomination, saying similar requests were made before, including from the people in Samarahan and Mukah.

Asked whether Mahmud, who is deputy chairperson of Cahya Mata Sarawak Group, was willing to enter politics, Abdul Taib replied, "You have to ask him."

He later said that Mahmud had expressed his reservation about entering active politics, saying having "one brother in the politics is enough."

Mahmud's younger brother Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib is Kota Samarahan MP and a former tourism deputy minister.

Wan Abdul Wahab, a five-term Sadong Jaya incumbent, indicated during the state legislative assembly sitting in November last year that he might not seek a re-election at the upcoming polls, due at the latest by July this year.

Meanwhile, the Star reported that Mahmud's wife, Datin Sri Shahnaz A. Majid, is applying for a divorce and RM400mil in settlement.

Shahnaz, 48, claimed Wednesday that they had not had an intimate relationship for more than 10 years.

Shahnaz is the sister of jazz queen Datuk Sheila Majid.

She claimed that Mahmud, 48, who is a businessman, had caused her physical and mental torture.

- Bernama/Star