Dr Mahathir's Transgressions Unreported

The only mistake that Dr. Mahathir has ever done, as openly acknowledged by the Tun himself, is to repeatedly appoint "wrong" Deputy Prime Ministers for the country (Musa, Ghafar Baba, Anwar and Badawi, and Najib). 
By Ken
Tun Dr. Mahathir has, of late, become even more vocal in pitting the Malays against the non-Malays, in particular the Chinese.
The consequences are that blogs and Internet sites are full of slander and insults targeted at Dr. Mahathir. The insults and name-calling range from "corrupt evil dictator" and "pariah" to "Mahafiruan", "Hitler" and worse [too horrible to be quoted here].
What these bloggers seem to overlook is that Dr. Mahathir was elected by the voters in Kubang Pasu in at least 6 general elections, elected by UMNO delegates to be their president for more than 2 decades and was Malaysia's Prime Minister for 22 years, strongly supported by the majority of the non-Malays. During his tenure, Mahathir was more popular with the Chinese than the Malays and was even saved by them in the 1999 General Elections when the Malays abandoned him because of how he had treated (sodomized?) Anwar, contrary to "adat-adat  orang Melayu".
Mahathir was then admired by many of the same people who are now insulting and criticizing him. They had noted Mahathir's many accomplishments and felt proud about these Malaysia Boleh records - Petronas Twin Towers, KL Tower, KLIA, North-South Highway, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, MSC, Penang Bridge, Proton, Sepang F1, Bakun Dam, world class golf courses and resorts, etc.
They were proud at having found a leader who had changed Malaysia from an agricultural country into an industrial nation which was doing so well that it needed to bring in foreign labour from Indonesia, Bangladesh, etc. to man the factories, service industries and remaining plantations.
During his tenure as PM, Dr. Mahathir was highly regarded and there were few who would dare to throw even minor insults at him. Not even Karpal would dare to utter a harsh word against the great Dr. Mahathir. 
Today, we are witnessing this same great Dr. Mahathir being called the most evil thing that has happened to Malaysia. However, while the slander and insults continue to increase on the Internet, they are not backed by solid evidence.
Has anyone ever come out in the open with evidence and said "Dr. Mahathir did this and that ...."? Even Anwar, who was Mahathir's deputy for many years and would have been privy to many things, has revealed nothing to expose Mahathir. There are people who claim that Mahathir is corrupt and has amassed wealth. OK, where is the evidence? If you have the evidence, why haven't you reported Mahathir to the police? "Mahathir is a racist", some proclaim loudly, pointing out incidences such as Dr. Mahathir's recent call to Malays to go on the offensive in response to grouses and complaints by non-Malays about their rights. Why has there been no police report and follow-up action against Dr. Mahathir for uttering the racist statements?
If Mahathir is so evil and corrupt, as the bloggers and others claim, why has there been no police or MACC investigation? Surely, Tun Dr. Mahathir is not above the law, as the Tun himself will be ready to openly announce. Some might argue that the police, MACC and AG will not investigate Mahathir because of allegiance or loyalty. But Dr. Mahathir is not the current PM and does not wield power and influence over them. The police, MACC and AG report to Najib, who has also been criticized by Mahathir on various matters, and who would, if he could, surely mobilize the police/MACC/AG to investigate the ex-PM to counter his severe insults and criticisms.
This has not happened possibly because there is no evidence to charge Dr. Mahathir. The only mistake that Dr. Mahathir has ever done, as openly acknowledged by the Tun himself, is to repeatedly appoint "wrong" Deputy Prime Ministers for the country (Musa, Ghafar Baba, Anwar and Badawi, and Najib).
Some might argue that little can be done if the authorities (police, MACC and AG) do not want to act against Dr. Mahathir. The point is that the authorities can act only if there are reports against Dr. Mahathir. Some may point to the rare police reports against Mahathir, such as the one by Karpal Singh, and that nothing has happened. Perhaps there is no evidence for the authorities to proceed further. Or maybe Karpal does not have the necessary evidence to pursue it further (or maybe Karpal is too scared to face Dr. Mahathir or his formidable counsel Mathias Chang in court, and has conveniently forgotten his report against Mahathir).
OK, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam video clip provides evidence to incriminate Mahathir (together with Lingam and the others) in the manipulation of the judiciary. Najib (and the AG) has decided to ignore the findings and recommendations of the RCI for reasons which are known to all but the naive. But the critics of Mahathir can surely do something on the basis of the RCI recommendations. Have a massive signature campaign to request His Majesty to direct Najib to act on the findings of His Majesty's RCI's findings. There can be a mass demo to call for action on the basis of the RCI recommendations. Or, at least, why not make police reports on the basis of the RCI findings for action to be taken against Mahathir and his Lingam gang.
Mahathir has made some totally outlandish racist statements of late. Make a thousand police reports against Mahathir. Make it a million - there must be more than a million Mahathir critics out there. Surely the authorities can't ignore a million police reports against Mahathir, and, even if they ignore, that itself would be a world record (another Malaysia Boleh world record we can be proud of) which will hit headlines internationally and force Najib to do something. The fact is that there are few police reports against Dr. Mahathir, though one would think otherwise when reading the many slanderous  and abusive postings on blogs and web sites.
Some people might contend that it would be futile to go to the police or the MACC, arguing that it would be a waste of time and that nothing would happen. Looking at the track record of the police and MACC, one would be justified to conclude that this route would be futile, but there are other routes such as a civil suit. If one has a legitimate case against another, one can bring a civil suit against the other. But there has hardly been any civil suits against Dr. Mahathir. Even Anwar withdrew his civil suit against Dr. Mahathir for his 'Black Eye' though Mahathir was the Home Minister then and claimed that Anwar could have punched himself to get the black eye. 
To conclude, if Dr. Mahathir is really as corrupt, racist and evil as he is made out to be, the critics and  bloggers should (collectively, or individually) file a police report against the ex-PM with solid evidence. If this route does not look viable, they could file a civil suit against Dr. Mahathir and seek damages for all Malaysians - according to Barry Wain, at least Ringgit 100 billion have been misappropriated or lost due to Dr. Mahathir.
If Dr. Mahathir is really the terrible corrupt evil racist he is made out to be, it is ok to be a "coward" to sue him. Given that there is a large number of bloggers who are critical of Dr. Mahathir, they should have no difficulty raising the necessary funds for the civil suit and engaging top lawyers (Karpal - pro-bono?) to handle the case.
File the suit in Malaysia, UK or anwhere feasible (except, of course, Singapore). If both these efforts fail, the bloggers should compile a book, in English and Malay, on Dr. Mahathir to expose his "corruption, racism, and evilness" by providing full details and evidence.
Barry Wain has already made a sterling start in this direction with his must-read "Malaysian Maverick". Why not get someone to translate the book into Malay so that the kampong folks and other Malays can read Barry's work and judge for themselves whether Dr. Mahathir is really the great clean incorruptible champion of the Malays as he now potrays himself?
If Mahathir's opponents and critics are not ready to act in legitimate ways to expose and punish Mahathir for his purported corruption, racism and evilness, the bloggers and other critics of Mahathir should cease from slandering and insulting the Tun and accept him as Allah's blessing rather than a perennial curse on Malaysia.
MT

The Godfather of Sarawak

Unmasked! Taib The Godfather

Monday, August 9th, 2010 GMT

Held in trust by private agreement - 50% of the shares of Sakti International, worth approximately US$ 40 million.

Sarawak Report has uncovered devastating documents which prove that Abdul Taib Mahmud, Sarawak’s Chief Minister, is the real owner of millions of dollars of property assets held in the name of family members abroad.
The damning discovery lays bare a system of private deals, which enabled the Chief Minister to conceal his true ownership of the properties. This was presumably in order to hide the extent of his enormous wealth, for which he has yet to provide any legitimate explanation.
Under the system, whilst it is Taib’s relatives who are publicly registered as the official shareholders and directors of the companies owning the properties,  a separate, private agreement ensures that the shares are actually held in trust for him.
Download PDF.

Documentary evidence of elaborate concealment

260 California Street, San Francisco - Bijou Sakti Office Block

Among documents in its possession Sarawak Report has a copy of one such private agreement (see above) relating to the shares in Sakti International, a company that owns buildings in San Francisco.  Sakti is part of a web of companies started in North America by the Taibs, which includes Sakto, a major Ottawa property company, and Wallysons, which owns the Abraham Lincoln Building in Seattle, housing a top secret anti-terrorist facility for the FBI.
The five official shareholders of Sakti International, which is registered in California, are Taib’s brothers, Onn Mahmud and Arip Mahmud, along with three of his children, Sulaiman Taib, Mahmud Taib and Jamilah Taib.   However, as the document which we have obtained shows, a resolution made soon after the formation of the company has privately ruled that half those shares (a commanding majority) are held in trust for the Chief Minister.  The value of these shares amounts to 40 million US dollars for Sakti alone, according to the company’s own documents.

Tip of the iceberg?

However, Sakti International, estimated to be worth US $80 million, accounts for just a small proportion of the Taib family wealth. Our previous exposes have revealed a vast portfolio of further international property assets, which are owned by members of Taib Mahmud’s immediate family.  For example, Taib’s own children are the shareholders and directors of numerous companies controlling residential and commercial buildings in Canada, Australia, Britain and the United States together worth hundreds of millions of US dollars.  Yet, suspiciously, many of these assets came into their possession when they were in their early 20s and still college students with no visible access to legitimate resources to invest. The inevitable question for Taib Mahmud, therefore, is whether, as in the case of Sakti International, they are also secretly holding these other properties in trust for him?  If not, what explanation can there be for these investments?

Golden Wedding Couple - The Godfather and his family

A number of reports have already been made to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) regarding the recent disclosures of the Taib family wealth. These new revelations proving the direct link to the Chief Minister will increase the pressure on the MACC to respond with a proper investigation.

Further Fingerprints

The Sakti International documents in our possession, released as part of the disclosure in a recent court case, provide further extensive evidence of Taib Mahmud’s involvement in the company, despite his denials of any business connections.  Indeed one of the company’s earliest official documents, signed in 1987, even lists him as one of the Directors of Sakti International.

Chief Minister's name in black and white, listed as a Director Of Sakti International

The document in question is a Domestic Stock Corporation Statement for Sakti International, which is required annually by the State of California.  In 1987, the year the company was set up, its inaugural statement clearly registers Taib Mahmud, along with his brothers Onn Mahmud and Arip Mahmud, as a Director of the company.  The only officer of the company is listed as Mahmud Taib, the Chief Minister’s eldest son.
It is well-known that in subsequent Taib family enterprises the Chief Minister has always scrupulously avoided including his own name in any documentation.  This early mistake will undermine his constant claims that, in keeping with his role as Chief Minister, he has no direct business interests. It is clear that he in fact set up Sakti International, using the address of his own house in San Francisco. Download PDF

Cover Up

Subsequently, records show that the structure of the company was altered to make Onn, Arip and Mahmud Taib the three Directors, while Rahman became the only officer of the company.  But, as we are now able to exclusively report, Taib Mahmud secretly retained his control through a resolution by the company directors dated April 8^th 1988. This resolution (see top) placed 500 of the 1,000 shares issued by the company in trust for him.

43 Presidio, Taib's San Francisco town house and early HQ for Sakti International

The Godfather

The Sakti documents give a fascinating insight into the manipulative methods used by Taib Mahmud to control his family members, who are supposedly the earners and ‘businessmen’ who have generated the Taibs’ legendary wealth.  The five relatives who were selected to own shares in Sakti International were each been given a different number of shares. Each then surrendered differing proportions of these shares to be held in trust for the Chief Minister.
Brother Onn Mahmud gets 400 shares, but of them 200 are held for the Chief Minister, whereas brother Arip gets just 200 shares, 100 of which are in trust for Taib. Mahmud Taib has the same arrangement ast Arip. However younger brother, Sulaiman Rahman Taib, who was later made sole Director of Sakti, only gets 100 shares under the agreement and they are all in fact held in trust for his father. Daughter Jamilah also only gets 100 shares, but she gets to hold them all herself.
The system ensures that Taib Mahmud has half of all the shares held in trust for himself, whereas  none of the others hold more than 200 shares. In this way he clearly keeps a commanding control over the company he pretends not to own.

Classic Car on Standby - Vintage Ferrari kept ready for Chief Minister's occasional visits to 43 Presidio Avenue. Son Rahman Taib, who shared his father's interest requested a 4,000 square foot garage to house his car collection in the States

Taib in charge

Former employees of Sakti have testified to the controling position the Chief Minister holds over the other members of the family.  Rahman, as he was known in the States, was still in college when he became sole Director of Sakti and has been described as being in awe of his father, whom he once had to wait a week to get a meeting with.
“We always considered Taib to be the ultimate boss and decision-maker” one former executive has told Sarawak Report, “It was obvious that he was the source of the money and Rahman was extremely deferential towards him”.

Where did the money come from?

The Chief Minister has so far made no comment on the string of recent exposes regarding his wealth.  However, this new evidence will increase the widespread demands for him to explain how he and his family accrued the millions necessary to acquire such investments.  Taib’s personal salary from his numerous concurrent positions still only delivers an official income of just under 50,000 MYR (around US $16,000) a month.

Multi-billionaire? Chief Minister's finances beg immediate scrutiny

In past weeks the existence of Ridgeford Properties in London and Sakto Corporation in Ontario, Canada have also been made public (see previous exposes on Sarawak Report).  These companies own and manage numerous office blocks worth hundreds of millions of dollars.  Ostensibly the Directors and owners of these concerns are Jamilah Taib and her husband Sean (Hisham) Murray, a Canadian national. However, like Sakti,  Sakto was originally set up under the names of Taib family members, not Mr Murray.
Although numerous members of Sean Murray’s family now work for Sakto, all the evidence indicates that these are in fact Taib family businesses, ultimately controlled by the Chief Minister of Sarawak.
Surely the weight of evidence is now such that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission will be unable to ignore the deluge of demands requiring thorough investigation into Sarawak’s White Haired Raja?
Sarawak Report

Bloggers in the Red

By TEO CHENG WEE, The Straits Times
Online journalism may be booming in Malaysia, drawing many readers from traditional print media, but staying profitable is another story altogether.
With intense competition and business models that are still being worked out, many popular news sites are still struggling to stay in the black.
Recently, one of Malaysia's top news websites became the first major casualty.
The Nut Graph, which was launched with much fanfare in 2008, has said it is scaling down operations at the end of this month and retrenching staff. Making an announcement last month, editor Jacqueline Ann Surin cited financial difficulties to explain its move.
Starting next month, The Nut Graph will publish only once a week instead of five times, and focus mostly on columns and commentaries from contributors, rather than news or features.
The Nut Graph's financial struggles have been no secret. Launched with a start-up cost of RM2 million, the website has not turned in a profit, and with funds running low, even had to seek public donations to keep going.
"The expectation of online journalism is that it needs to be super-fast with a high turnover of stories. In order to do that, you need a fairly large team which costs more money," said Surin, a former journalist with local dailies The Star and The Sun.
The Nut Graph business model, she said, was simply not sustainable.
A similar story can be heard at some of the other news websites.
Top news website Malaysiakini, for instance, is the oldest and only website that charges subscription. Even then, the 10-year-old site is making only a small profit, said its editor Steven Gan.
Similarly, the chief executive of The Malaysian Insider, another well-read site, said earlier this week that it was still in the red. Internet advertising, he said, covers only half its costs.
Still, such financial challenges have not stopped newcomers like Malaysian Mirror, Free Malaysia Today and Malaysian Digest from joining the fray in the past year.
News websites have surged in popularity here in the past two years, in the wake of the 2008 general election, as Malaysians flocked online for what they felt was more independent news, at the same time shunning mainstream newspapers which many felt were overly pro-government.
But analysts say that in an increasingly crowded cyberspace, packed with stories of varying quality, more has not proven to be better.
Political analyst Farish Noor noted that there has been a tendency for news websites to overlap and cover the same news, resulting in a 'somewhat shallow consensus of opinion'.
There is also frequent speculation that some websites have hidden political backers, which would explain the ability to absorb financial losses in exchange for online influence.
"After the last general election, people realized that the Internet is a powerful medium. It is possible that politicians and business tycoons will pay for a stake in online media," Gan said.
While some of these news websites have sometimes been criticized for running stories with clear slants, he felt it was up to readers 'to decide how much weight they can put on them and what to believe in'.
Both Gan and Farish see the scaling down of The Nut Graph, which has built up a credible reputation, as a blow to online journalism in Malaysia.
More websites are likely to come up to take its place, but Farish believes that those with agendas will not be able to hoodwink readers for long.
"The public can see through any slant, and that only robs these organizations, and the journalists who work for them, of their credibility," he said.

Taib Land Sale to Children and Cronies

Hornbill Unleashed

August 25, 2010

Cut-price sale of Kuching land to Taib’s children

Filed under: Human rights,corruption — Hornbill Unleashed @ 5:20 PM
Tags: Save Sarawak, Sarawak politics, corruption, Anak Sarawak Bangsa Malaysia, Taib Mahmud

By Aidila Razak
A company owned by Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s children has obtained land in Kuching at a very low price, causing the state to lose at least RM300 million in potential revenue.

Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen said the state government had alienated 269 acres of land within the city to Monarda Sdn Bhd at a “grossly and obscenely under-priced” rate of RM291,000 per acre on average.

“The market rate is between RM1.5 million and RM2 million per acre. Had the government gone for public tender, the state could have (earned) RM400 million to RM500 million,” he told Malaysiakini today.
Instead, Monarda, which has a paid-up capital of RM100, only paid about RM78.28 million for the three parcels of land, he said.
“We demand that the state government gives a full explanation and be accountable to the people of Sarawak,” said Chong (left), who is also Sarawak DAP secretary.
The three parcels are located next to the Kuching International Airport near Stutong. There is a military base located in the same area.
Monarda is headed by Taib’s eldest son Abu Bekir, who holds 52 shares, and one Choong Sun Nam, who holds 12 shares.
Other shareholders include Taib’s daughters Jamilah and Hanifah Hajar, and Taib’s daughter-in-law Anisa Hamidah Abdullah, all of whom hold 12 shares respectively.
Unusual alienation exercise
Chong, who traced the Taib connection through land and companies registry searches, said this was one of the largest parcels of city land to be alienated in any one exercise.
“The land is currently vacant and Monarda has not done any business since it was founded,” he said.
Earlier this year, three complaintswere lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission against Taib, alleging that he and his family had used corrupt means to build a property empire valued in excess of RM3 billion.
Two documents surfaced this month in the Sarawak Report website alleging that Taib had used proxies in 1987 to take control of a US-based property company, Sakti International Corporation, then worth at least US$80 million (RM250 million). –  MalaysiaKini


Articles in Bahasa Malaysia :- Jual tanah kepada anak, S’wak rugi lebih RM300 juta

Road to Putrajaya Confiscated

It has come to my knowledge that on last Thursday, 19th of August, police officers had raided bookshops in many parts of the country to confiscate my book “The March to Putrajaya”.  They did so without giving any reason and without issuing any official document.  Neither has there been any public statement accounting for this operation.
Upon inquiry by Malaysiakini, Home Ministry’s Publications Control and Quranic Text secretary Zaitun Samad said that the Ministry was not responsible for any seizure of the book, adding “perhaps the police took those books, but not us” as quoted by a Malaysiakini news report on August 21st.
Under these circumstances, such police operation is clearly illegal, as it constitutes “trespassing” and “theft”, since there were neither search warrants nor known legal ground to back up such action.
I can conceive of no justifiable ground for the authorities to act against my book.  The book is essentially a collection of my articles which contain materials that are factual and truthful as far as I know.  And they have been published over the past few years by Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today and several other websites, as well as Suara Keadilan. Hence, the substance therein has been for a long time in the domain of the public, which, I would like to believe, include the relevant government authorities.
If my articles contain falsehood or illegal elements that have endangered public security or caused injury to any party, I would have expected the injured party to have protested or acted against me.  But there has been none.
Even if I have lied and injured any party, the correct thing to do is to sue me for defamation.  Harassing the bookshops to sabotage the sale of my book is surely a response that is legally and morally wrong. 
Regarding Puan Zaitun’s statement that the Home Ministry was not responsible for this seizure of books, I regret to state that this answer is not satisfactory. The Home Minister’s portfolio clearly includes the police department, and as such, the Minister is answerable to the Cabinet, Parliament and to the public for the conduct of the Police.
What strikes me as strange in this instant is that the control of undesirable publication, which is a function under the Division of Publication Control and Quranic Text in the Home Ministry, should now be taken over by the police, which should amount to usurpation of the Ministry’s authority – judging from Puan Zaitun’s claim of ignorance of this police operation.  The police had no business to interfere into the sales of my book, unless criminal offence has been committed.
What is even more deplorable is the lawless manner with which the police had carried out their work.   It must be clearly understood that illegally confiscating properties on such a large scale is a serious infringement of the law, more so when it is committed by the police, who ironically are the very people who should be protecting the public from such infringement. 
Confiscating my books without legal ground is also a violation of the Constitution, as my right of freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution has been transgressed.
I would like to believe that, despite our battered reputation as a democratic country, we still have laws, and as such, the police are not above the law.
The current police incursion into the Constitution and the laws is certainly a matter of grave concern to the public.
I therefore call upon the Minister of Home Affairs, Datuk Seri Hishammudin Tun Hussein, to make a public statement clarifying the Ministry’s stand on my book and the true state of affairs within his ministry over the current incident.

Kim Quek

FELDA Abused

Felda blind to Tun Razak's vision

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:27

By Jamilah Kamarudin

PETALING JAYA: Since its inception more than five decades ago, the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) has brought about many changes and helped improve the lives of Bumiputeras.
Efforts by the late premier Tun Abdul Razak in 1956 were the starting point of the plan to improve and enhance the economy of the Malays, especially the rural community.

At the beginning, Felda aimed at balancing the distribution of the economic and social status and reduce the economic gap within the community and other races.

Land as vast as 4.046 hectares (10acres) for agriculture and 0.809 hectares (two acres) for housing were set aside for settlers.

The rapid growth of Felda’s agriculture sector is a result of the settlers’ toil and and Felda has gone on to become among the richest government agencies after Petronas. It also offered all kinds of loan schemes with high interest to settlers.

But Razak’s philosophy of “giving land to those who do not have” and “enriching the poor” are no longer embraced by the Felda leadership.

The agency has deteriorated since coming under the Prime Minister’s Department in 2004.

Felda’s strategic policy of agriculture was changed to corporate industry through the setting up of Felda Plantation and its 23 subsidiaries. Although the subsidiaries offered lucrative returns, they however also jeopardised the rights of settlers and their inheritors.

Aside from the unsatisfactory extraction grade (KPG -kadar perahan gred) of the palm oil, there were also allegations of manipulation of grades, and issues over their deposits in the Replanting Fund and quality of the oil palm.

The settlers were further burdened by the high interest on loans on the lands which were mortgaged to Felda.

Fulfil social obligation
Several groups have stood up against the mismanagement and began exposing Felda's wrongdoings. Among the more active NGOs, is the National Association for Children of Settlers (Anak).

Its president, Mazlan Aliman, wants Felda to fulfil its social obligation as an agency that takes care of the welfare of the settlers and not just act as a corporate body focused on profits.

"This is the reason that we and the settlers all over the country are beginning to take court action against Felda. The key reason is the swindling and cheating involved in the extraction process,” he said.

After Serting Hill filed its summons, the Raja Alias scheme in Seremban followed suit with a RM200 million summons.

Mazlan expects more schemes in Felda Pahang to do the same.

“I am quite sure the settlers in Pahang will rise to voice their right after several meetings with Felda Chini last week and the setting up of an action committee in Bera and Kratong Felda schemes.

“The Felda Bera scheme will make the first move with the participation of 4,000 settlers and we will file for legal action in November at the latest. This will be followed by Felda Chini and Kratong.

“Anak (the association) and our lawyers R Sivarasa, Wan Rohimi Wan Daud, and Nizam Abdul Hamid will go down to the ground in Pahang next week to study the documents and hold briefings with the settlers. I will also visit Jengka 17 soon to organise a briefing for settlers there,” he said.
Also read:
Felda has to pay RM11 million to 354 settlers 
FMT

Stop the Charade

Action against Sabah 12: Stop the charade, cry supporters

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:44

By FMT Staff

PETALING JAYA: Supporters of 12 Sabah PKR leaders hauled up for disciplinary hearing have slammed the entire exercise as a sham and a waste of time. And they want the party's top leaders to bring an end to this charade.
They fear that if the farce continues, it will only lead to increasing turmoil in the party.
“We are surprised that the party had sent three lightweights to conduct the disciplinary hearing... and it wasn't a proper disciplinary proceeding at all.

“What we saw were these three pro-Anwar leaders interviewing the Sabahans on their alleged role in the formation of a breakaway party last year,” the supporters told FMT, choosing to remain anonymous for fear of further reprisals from the party.

“It appears that no decision will be made by the three committee members as the decision will be made for them by certain leaders in Kuala Lumpur... this is a charade orchestrated from party headquarters,” they alleged.
In a later development, the party's secretary general said today that the disciplinary committee has recommended that the 12 be suspended for a year, with a final decision to be made by the supreme council on Aug 29.

The 12 leaders, all of whom are aligned to PKR vice-president Jeffrey Kitingan, have been subjected to disciplinary proceedings due to their role in setting up Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) last year.

The idea of the new party was mooted by some Sabah PKR leaders following a massive fallout between Jeffrey and fellow vice-president Azmin Ali, which resulted in Jeffrey being replaced as the state chief.

However, under a peace plan inked by the party headquarters here, Jeffrey was made responsible for both Sabah and Sarawak and another person was put in charge of the state. Azmin was totally removed from the state lineup.

The peace deal also ensured that there will be no witchhunt against those who had allegedly plotted against the party at that time by aligning themselves with Jeffrey.

However, the decision to haul up the 12 before the disciplinary committee suggests that the party is ready to ditch the peace deal and punish the 12.

With their suspension, if confirmed by the supreme council on Sunday, they would play no part in the coming party polls. Their backers have seen this development as an elaborate plan hatched by Azmin and his Sabah loyalists to cut off rivals from the party.

Party supremo Anwar Ibrahim has also been accused of playing a role in this.

A Malay agenda?

“We are tempted to believe what blogger Haris Ibrahim wrote yesterday that Anwar was not keen to have a non-Malay to lead Sabah and Sarawak,” said the supporters of the 12.

“This move against the 12 looks like a new campaign to weed out the influential non-Malays from the party so that Azmin and his boys can have a free rein,” they added.

Yesterday, the disciplinary committee – made up of Animah Ferrer, P Y Wong, and Steven Choong – interviewed 11 of the 12 in Penampang, Sabah. One was absent due to illness.
Political observers noted that this move by PKR has once again put the spotlight on Anwar and the role Sabah and Sarawak will play in Malaysian politics.

FMT learnt that the complaint against the 12 was filed by five PKR members – Sulaiman Aladad, Jonathan Yasin, Dr Hamzah Amir, Dr Roland Chia, and Adris Taripin, all said to be aligned to state leaders close to Azmin.

“Anwar should just come clean and say why these 12 are being investigated in breach of the peace deal.

“His continued silence will only lend credence to talks that he is in the know of the plan to sideline Jeffrey in the party,” they said.

Also read:

Jeffrey's supporters quizzed over breakway bid
'What's the deal with Sabah 12, Anwar?'

'Who will kick Umno out of Anwar?'

FMT

Sarawak Report on Taib

$1 Dollar Mansion?

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 GMT

1117 Boylston Avenue, Seattle, USA

Sarawak Report would like to enquire of Abdul Taib Mahmud how much he paid for the mansion that Samling passed on to his family in Seattle, USA ?
The residence forms an enormous property, standing in its own grounds in one of the most prestigious area of Seattle on Boylston Avenue.  It was passed from a Samling-owned company to a company now owned by Abdul Taib Mahmud and his family, for just one US dollar in 1991.
Click for King County Assessment Office details

Details of a very nice property

City Garden!

Described as a Top Grade Mansion in ‘very good’ condition by Washington State’s King County Department of Assessments, the property was valued at over US$ 6.8 million in 2008.
It has 6 bedrooms and 5 main bathrooms and an enormous total living space of 9,020 square feet, plus a basement of 2,120 square feet.  The house is surrounded by a large open porch and there is a big basement garage  for the car-loving Taib family, plus a second, attached garage.  The mansion is surrounded by gracious gardens, kept in manicured condition and the grounds total 26,172 square feet.
See pictures of Samling properties under http://sarawakreport.org/2010/08/from-samling-to-the-taibs/#1
Click for Home Appraisal Document (1996)’ “The Taib home, located at 1117 Boylston Avenue in the community of Seattle…”

Mysterious acquisition

Lord and Lady of the Manor

The property, registered under the company W. A. Boylston Inc (California), has been in the possession of the Taib family since the early to mid-1990s.  Family portraits of the Chief Minister, his deceased wife and four sons and daughters as small children, adorn the elaborate rooms.
They have all spent time in the mansion, which is not occupied by anyone else.  The property forms part of the family’s Sakti International Corporation, incorporated in California and currently managed by Hisham (Sean) Murray, the Chief Minister’s son in law, out of his offices at 333 Preston Street, Ontario, Canada.
However, there is confusion in the Seattle public records as to how the property passed to the Taibs.  Sarawak Report has been unable to obtain any clear record of the transfer from one owner to another or, importantly, the register of any payment that would normally be eligible for taxation.  We therefore request a statement from the Taibs to explain the situation.

Gracious living

The Samling connection

However, Sarawak Report has managed to clearly establish  that before passing to the Taibs the house was owned by another California corporation called CSY Investments, set up in 1988.  CSY acquired the property in 1991 and then registered it under subsidiary company called W. A. Boylston Inc.
CSY are the initials of Chee S Yaw, who signs himself as the company’s President in documents which are publicly available at the King County Land Registry.  Significantly, Mr Yaw is one of the younger sons of Yaw Teck Seng, founder of the massive logging conglomerate Samling Global.  Yaw Teck Seng is regularly featured in Forbes Asia’s Rich List of Malaysia’s top 40 richest individuals, as does his eldest son, Yaw Chee Ming, establishing them one of the richest families in Asia.

Chee Siew Yaw - Son of Samling Boss

‘Unethical’

Our revelation comes with poor timing for the Chief Minister of Sarawak.  Earlier this week Samling made international headlines when the Norwegian Government Pension Fund withdrew all investments in Samling after condemning the company as ’unethical’, owing to  illegal logging and environmental devastation in Sarawak.  [Click for Norwegian official announcement]
Abdul Taib Mahumd in his joint capacities as Chief Minister, Finance Minister and State Planning and Resources Minister, has controlled the issuing of Sarawak’s timber licenses for the past 30 years, leaving clear questions over his incentives for  favouring such an ‘unethical’ company.
It is no secret that Samling has based its business success on achieving numerous logging concessions in Sarawak. Over the period of the Chief Minister’s rule, companies operating under his licenses have razed virtually all Sarawak’s valuable virgin forest, much of it taken without compensation from the indigenous peoples who had been granted these territories under Native Customary Land Rights.

President of CSY (Son of Samling Boss) signs ownership of Boylston Mansion in 1991. When and how did it pass to the Taibs?

Samling is one of the main companies involved in this destruction and it has used its base in Sarawak to launch similar logging operations in the Congo, Amazon, Russia and elsewhere, many of which have been heavily criticised by concerned NGO’s across the world.

The US $1 Sale

Therefore, we repeat the question, how and why did the Chief Minister come by a mansion formally owned by Samling?  The only official record available of a transfer of the property in the King County Land Registry from CSY is the granting of a so-called Quit Claim Deed for just one dollar!  This transaction on 19th September 1991 placed the property into the subsidiary company W. A. Boylston Inc.  W. A. Boylston had been incorporated in California a few days earlier on September 5th by CSY and its registered address was given as 2260 Douglas Boulevard, Roseville, which was the Headquarters of CSY.

Grandure

CSY and Boylston then immediately filed a joint letter to the King County Real Estate and Excise Tax Department declaring ‘under penalty of perjury’  that W. A. Boylston was a wholly owned subsidiary of CSY Investments, thereby making the Quit Claim transaction exempt from excise tax.
However, our investigations have shown that there is no subsequent record in the Land Registry of the later transfer of ownership of W. A. Boylston from CSY (Samling) to the Taibs.  According to rules published by King County such a transfer would normally require the payment of thousands of dollars of excise tax.

Proof of Taib ownership

Despite the lack of open records, Sarawak Report is able to confirm that there is definitive proof that the Taibs did take over the property from Samling’s CSY.  In fact they took up residence as the effective owners not long after the property was placed in the hands of the CSY subsidiary W. A. Boylston.  Rahman Taib had an insurance assessment drawn up in 1996 (see above).

Portraits of the Taib family adorn the house. The family were in residence from at least the mid-90s

Furthermore, a significant alteration was made to the company’s official address and official representative in 2000. In that year W. A. Boylston’s annual Statement by a Domestic Stock Corporation to the State of California noted a change of address to that of the headquarters of Sakti International (the property company, which Sarawak Report has recently proved to be majority owned by the Chief Minister).  Likewise, the company representative was altered from a CSY official to Rahman Taib, the Chief Minister’s younger son.

How much did it cost?

Sarawak Report therefore wishes to ask once more,whether Mr Taib paid the going rate of over $3 million for the house at that time to Samling for the purchase of the house?  If so, how did the Chief Minister (salary approx MR 50,000 per month) find the money?
If, on the other hand he acquired it for free, then readers of Sarawak Report will be entitled to conclude that the mansion was a kickback from Samling, as a favour in return for all the logging concessions granted to them by the Chief Minister.   They would also be entitled to ask whether the United States tax authorities have received all the money they are due.

Mansion No 2 – 2222 Everett Avenue, Seattle

By the way there is a second Seattle Mansion!

If the Boylston mansion was indeed a ‘gift’ from Samling to the Chief Minister, then one cannot expect such a thing to be done by halves.  Indeed, a second, equally gracious and prestigious mansion has also found its way from the Yaws to the Taibs in Seattle, by what would appear to be exactly the same route.

W. A. Everett Inc

2222 Everett Avenue East, worth $2,854,000 at its peak value in 2008,  was also originally purchased by the Yaws. It was  then registered under another California corporation, W. A. Everett Inc, set up on the same day as W. A. Boylston (5th September 1991). W. A. Everett Inc is likewise listed as a subsidiary of CSY in the King County Land Registry.   This mansion also ended up in the hands of the Taibs.

Choice view - Seattle Sky Line

The property is smaller with four bedrooms and bathrooms, but has famously sought after views over the City.
Sarawak Report understands that the Taibs have mainly rented it out over the past two decades, but as with Boylston, the only information about a transfer of ownership of the company from Samling to the Taibs comes with an identical change of address and officers in 2000, from the CSY address in Roseville to Rahman Taib, at Sakti International’s Headquarters in San Francisco. This leaves very many questions about how the Taibs have acquired their wealth.  It  is time for transparency.

FELDA lost in Federal Court

Felda settlers get RM11m in damages

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

August 26, 2010

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 26 — More than 300 settlers will receive RM11 million in damages after the Federal Court here rejected the Federal Land Development Authority’s bid to overturn a lower court decision which found that Felda had manipulated the grading of palm oil from their plantations.
Today’s victory could pave the way for more suits and underscores the rising discontent in Felda settlements — and may cost the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) crucial support from the mostly-Malay settlers.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties like PAS have taken advantage of the unhappiness in Felda settlements and have been campaigning in recent months to rally settlers, traditionally BN voters, to the side of the federal opposition.
The Federal Court refused a review of Felda’s application today to challenge a decision by another panel in dismissing its appeal, citing that it had no jurisdiction to entertain the application.
Felda had filed an application to review a Federal Court decision on January 19 which denied the land authority leave to appeal against a decision by the Kota Baru High Court.
The High Court had previously ordered Felda to pay RM7.8 million in damages and interest to the settlers on January 13, 2008, after its counsel failed to turn up for the hearing of the suit filed by the settlers.
The decision was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal.
The amount has since ballooned to RM11 million with accumulated interest, with each settler now expected to be paid between RM20,000 and RM30,000 in damages.
Today’s ruling was decided by a three-man panel chaired by Court of Appeal Justice Alauddin Mohd Sherif with Federal Court judges Justice Hashim Yusoff and Justice Md Raus Sharif.
In an unanimous decision, Alauddin said the court did not have jurisdiction to review the earlier decision of the Federal Court.
“Hence, this review is dismissed,” said Alauddin.
This is the first suit filed by the settlers against Felda.
The ruling today is set to have adverse repercussions for the land authority as well confidence of Felda settlers nationwide towards the Najib administration.
This was highlighted by Felda counsel Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, who referred to a string of suits faced by the federal authority from its settlers. There are currently other similar suits filed in the Johor Baru High Court and Seremban High Court.
The settlers sued Felda in 2002 seeking between RM20,000 and RM30,000 each in general damages, claiming that the agency had understated the quality of their oil palm fruits during the period from 1996 to 2002 which caused them to suffer losses.
They named Felda, Felda Kemahang 3 manager Ibrahim Ismail (now deceased) and Felda Palm Industries Sdn Bhd as defendants.
In their writ, the settlers claimed that they discovered fraud and conspiracy in the transactions of the oil palm fruits in September 2001.
More than 150 settlers packed the Palace of Justice here today.
The settlers were represented by a team of lawyers led by Wan Rohimi Wan Daud.
MI