Taib ‘declines’ to justify his extreme wealth

The World Bank uses the euphemism, mispricing, to describe the roots of corruption in the award of Government contracts.

LONDON: Sarawak Governor Abdul Taib Mahmud missed out on a historic opportunity to explain the sources of his extreme wealth, according to a release from Bruno Manser Foundation (BMF), a Swiss-based NGO.

A chair reserved for Malaysia’s longest-serving politician at a panel discussion in London last night remained empty.

Neither the Sarawak Governor nor his London lawyers, Mishcon de Reya, turned up at the launch of Money Logging: On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia by Lukas Straumann, a non-fiction book whose appearance Taib had in vain tried to stop.

Author Lukas Straumann, who is also executive director of BMF, had challenged the Sarawak Governor to participate in the event and explain the sources of his wealth after Taib had been described by his lawyers as an ultra high net worth individual.

In a letter to Straumann released Saturday, Mishcon de Reya refused to clarify how their client had acquired his wealth during 51 years in office as a cabinet minister and said “the onus is on you to prove your own allegations to be true, not upon our client to disprove them”.

In his book Money Logging, Straumann accused the Sarawak Governor of criminal offences such as grand corruption and misconduct in public office, allegations that Taib was unable to disprove.

Mishcon de Reya also failed to justify why Taib’s nine siblings, his four children and his cousin had simultaneously become extremely wealthy after their family head had become Chief Minister of Sarawak in 1981, said the release.

On Thursday, Mishcon de Reya threatened legal action if BBC were to broadcast an interview conducted with Straumann on “Taib’s corruption in Sarawak”.

Taib was investigated by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) which said that everything was done according to procedures.

International laws on money laundering, in force since 911, define the phenomenon as having assets far in excess of what one could possibly accumulate legitimately over a lifetime.

The World Bank uses the euphemism mispricing to describe the roots of corruption in the award of Government contracts. Government contracts often cost the taxpayer twice, thrice and even up to ten times what it should cost. The difference is pocketed by politicians through nominees.