NGOs based in six countries want Malaysia to arrest the Sarawak chief minister and 13 of his family members for ‘abuse of public office, corruption and conspiracy to form a criminal organisation’, among other accusations.
The groups include Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), Greenpeace and forest watch organisation Fern.
The full set of their allegations in the 10-page letter covers:
The letter, dated today, is being sent to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the inspector-general of police.
“We are calling Malaysia’s top prosecutors to immediately arrest and criminally prosecute (Abdul Taib Mahmud), his four children, his eight siblings and his first cousin, Abdul Hamed Sepawi,” said the NGOs based in Malaysia, Australia, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and the UK.
Three NGOS from Sarawak - Borneo Resources Institute Sarawak, The Network for Native Land Rights and the Sibu-based Institute for Development of Alternative Living - have endorsed the letter
Taib’s children were named as Jamilah Hamidah (left), Mahmud Abu Beki, Sulaiman Abdul Rahman and Hanifah Hajar.
His siblings were identified as Ibrahim, Aisah Zainab, Zaleha, Onn Mohamad Alí, Mohd Tufail, Amar Hajar Fredahanum and Raziah.
Copies of the letter are being sent to all major foreign embassies in Malaysia, heads of government, cabinet ministers and prosecutors in seven countries, the top executives of 10 multinational corporations who conduct business in or with Sarawak and editors of leading media outlets.
The letter is includes 16 exhibits that are said to document the accusations against the Taib family.
Research by the BMF has shown that Taib and his immediate family members have a stake in 332 Malaysian and 85 foreign companies worth several billion US dollars.
The known family stake in the net assets of 14 large Malaysian companies alone exceeds US$1.46 billion.
"We allege that only the systematic breach of the law and the use of illegal methods have enabled Taib and his family members to acquire such massive corporate assets," the letter alleges.
"Taib has been a state-paid public servant and government minister ever since 1963 and did not possess any significant independent assets prior to taking up office."
Alleged money trail
The letter gives three examples of family-controlled Malaysian companies said to have been favoured by Taib as chief minister - Cahya Mata Sarawak, Achi Jaya Holdings and Ta Ann Holdings.
Cahya Mata Sarawak is said to hold a monopoly on cement production in Sarawak; Achi Jaya Holdings is said to hold a monopoly on timber export licences; and Ta Ann Holdings has allegedly been granted more than 675,000ha of timber and plantation concessions without public tender.
The family is also said to be behind property companies in Canada (Sakto Corporation, City Gate International Corporation and others), in the UK (Ridgeford Properties Ltd), in the US (Wallysons Inc, Sakti International Corporation and others) and is also said to be closely linked to at least 22 companies in Australia.
Other companies, such as Regent Star and Richfold Investments in Hong Kong, are allegedly linked to a multi-million dollar kickbacks scheme uncovered by Japanese tax investigators.
The NGOs state that "the criminal nature of Taib and his family members' 'private' businesses can no longer be denied by anyone who is intellectually honest, desirous of seeing the truth and interested in the good of the Malaysian people and, in particular, the people of Sarawak".
"We would like to remind you that Malaysia, as a signatory to the UN Convention against corruption and the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, has a strong international obligation to fight corruption and organised crime in an efficient, timely and expedient manner", they add in the letter.
Taib is already facing investigations in Malaysia and abroad following allegations that profits from timber industries in Sarawak have been used to enrich family-owned companies.
However Taib and other family members have consistently denied specific claims made about them.
The groups include Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), Greenpeace and forest watch organisation Fern.
The full set of their allegations in the 10-page letter covers:
- Illegal appropriation of public funds;
- Abuse of public office;
- Illegal appropriation of state land;
- Fraud, larceny and corruption;
- Systematic exploitation of conflicts of interest;
- Suspected money-laundering; and
- Conspiracy to form a criminal organisation.
The letter, dated today, is being sent to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the inspector-general of police.“We are calling Malaysia’s top prosecutors to immediately arrest and criminally prosecute (Abdul Taib Mahmud), his four children, his eight siblings and his first cousin, Abdul Hamed Sepawi,” said the NGOs based in Malaysia, Australia, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and the UK.
Three NGOS from Sarawak - Borneo Resources Institute Sarawak, The Network for Native Land Rights and the Sibu-based Institute for Development of Alternative Living - have endorsed the letter
Taib’s children were named as Jamilah Hamidah (left), Mahmud Abu Beki, Sulaiman Abdul Rahman and Hanifah Hajar.His siblings were identified as Ibrahim, Aisah Zainab, Zaleha, Onn Mohamad Alí, Mohd Tufail, Amar Hajar Fredahanum and Raziah.
Copies of the letter are being sent to all major foreign embassies in Malaysia, heads of government, cabinet ministers and prosecutors in seven countries, the top executives of 10 multinational corporations who conduct business in or with Sarawak and editors of leading media outlets.
The letter is includes 16 exhibits that are said to document the accusations against the Taib family.
Research by the BMF has shown that Taib and his immediate family members have a stake in 332 Malaysian and 85 foreign companies worth several billion US dollars.
The known family stake in the net assets of 14 large Malaysian companies alone exceeds US$1.46 billion.
"We allege that only the systematic breach of the law and the use of illegal methods have enabled Taib and his family members to acquire such massive corporate assets," the letter alleges.
"Taib has been a state-paid public servant and government minister ever since 1963 and did not possess any significant independent assets prior to taking up office."
Alleged money trail
The letter gives three examples of family-controlled Malaysian companies said to have been favoured by Taib as chief minister - Cahya Mata Sarawak, Achi Jaya Holdings and Ta Ann Holdings.
Cahya Mata Sarawak is said to hold a monopoly on cement production in Sarawak; Achi Jaya Holdings is said to hold a monopoly on timber export licences; and Ta Ann Holdings has allegedly been granted more than 675,000ha of timber and plantation concessions without public tender.The family is also said to be behind property companies in Canada (Sakto Corporation, City Gate International Corporation and others), in the UK (Ridgeford Properties Ltd), in the US (Wallysons Inc, Sakti International Corporation and others) and is also said to be closely linked to at least 22 companies in Australia.
Other companies, such as Regent Star and Richfold Investments in Hong Kong, are allegedly linked to a multi-million dollar kickbacks scheme uncovered by Japanese tax investigators.
The NGOs state that "the criminal nature of Taib and his family members' 'private' businesses can no longer be denied by anyone who is intellectually honest, desirous of seeing the truth and interested in the good of the Malaysian people and, in particular, the people of Sarawak".
"We would like to remind you that Malaysia, as a signatory to the UN Convention against corruption and the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, has a strong international obligation to fight corruption and organised crime in an efficient, timely and expedient manner", they add in the letter.
Taib is already facing investigations in Malaysia and abroad following allegations that profits from timber industries in Sarawak have been used to enrich family-owned companies.
However Taib and other family members have consistently denied specific claims made about them.
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