Pages from Sarawak Report

By Sarawak Report
Following the tragic death of Ross Boyert, which we announced earlier this week, Sarawak Report has decided to publish in full the amazing allegations contained in a personal letter he wrote to his employer, the Chief Minister of Sarawak.

Company letterhead. Boyert wrote as the former Vice-President of Sakti International to the majority shareholder, Abdul Taib Mahmud

The 388 page document, sent after Boyert was sacked in November 2006, begged Taib to put to an end what he described as appalling treatment in return for his years of hard work building the family’s US property company, Sakti International, into a multi-million dollar business.

He also complained how he had to rescue the disastrous mismanagement of the company by Taib’s son, Rahman, and put a halt to a catastrophic building project, by his son-in-law Sean Murray, which was condemned on safety-grounds by the San Fransciso authorities.

[TO VIEW THE FULL DOCUMENT CLICK ON THE ICONS BENEATH THIS ARTICLE. SOME FAMILY DETAILS ERASED].
Key revelations
In the letter Boyert detailed bitter divisions and rivalries between Taib family members; described what he regarded as bullying tactics by Taib’s ambitious son-in-law, the Canadian Sean Murray, and related how Murray bragged about the Chief Minister’s extreme wealth.  When Murray approached Boyert to help run the family’s US properties in 1994, he even disclosed Taib’s billionaire status and revealed that the Chief Minister had just met with billionaire banker David Rockefeller and made an astonishing deposit of money:

Indiscreet? Boyert acquired much of his information from family members

Junior partner - Hisham (Sean) Murray, Jamilah's younger husband

Empire building
The letter goes on to explain how it was Boyert’s deteriorating relationship with Sean Murray that led to his summary dismissal twelve years later and a bitter court case. In that period Boyert describes a family torn apart by rivalries and greed, which as an employee he strove to manage.
The worst jealousies, he described were those between Taib’s sons, Rahman and Mahmud, and his son-in-law, Hisham (Sean Murray), who they believed was ’Empire Building’ within the network of Taib property companies based in Canada, the US, Britain and Australia.
“As Rahman had told me many, many times, Sean was busy empire building, I was immediately on guard”,  wrote Ross, as he explained to the Chief Minister why he had been reluctant to accept Murray’s original announcement that he had replaced  Rahman (Sulaiman) Taib as President of Sakti International in 2005.  Boyert angered the Canadian by insisting on documented evidence, signed by all the company’s official family shareholders. Sakti is the Taibs’ main property company in the USA and Boyert was employed as its Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer.

Ridiculed? - son Mahmud Taib and his wife

In later passages, which must have further dismayed the Chief Minister, Boyert also confided that Murray had frequently made sneering and disparaging comments about both his sons to him as an employee:

“It [a remark] reminded me how Sean would speak ill of Rahman when he was discussing their interaction.  In fact, in a recent call, Sean said the board meetings he attended droned on-and-on with Mahmud constantly talking but saying nothing.  He couldn’t believe how stupid it was and if not for him, the Kuching Convention Center would have been a total failure since he changed the design facing away, rather than towards, the river.  I did not, and do not, feel such comments are appropriate..”

A tactic that backfired
It is likely however, that by confiding in this way to Abdul Taib Mahmud, a man he had met but a few times, and by revealing that he was fully aware of the Chief Minister’s great wealth and commanding role in the company (which was meant to be a closely-guarded secret), Boyert had naively sealed his own fate.  Instead of gaining sympathy, it is likely he would have incurred the old man’s ire and convinced him that with all this knowledge, he was a dangerous liability to his company and reputation.

MT

Divide and Rule Policy of BN

To the Malays it is about DAP being in power if Pakatan Rakyat comes in. To the non-Malays it is about PAS being in power if Pakatan Rakyat comes in. So, to one group, it is about the fear of the erosion of Malay dominance while, to the other, it is about the fear of the rise of the dominance of Islam.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak delivered his budget speech in the Malaysian Parliament. It is without a doubt an election budget speech, meant to win over the people of Malaysia and entice them to vote for Barisan Nasional in the next general election that can be expected not too far away.  
Najib has done his homework. He realises that the Barisan Nasional government is not having the people’s support. He also realises that the government is not getting support even from the civil servants and members of the security forces.
The Special Branch has told Najib that the majority of the civil service is not with the government, so says my Deep Throat in Bukit Aman. The Chinese are extremely angry with the government and are going to punish the MCA and Gerakan and bury them for good.
The Indians are also angry with the government and are already punishing the MIC after burying the PPP and sending the party into oblivion. The Chinese and Indian component parties of the Barisan Nasional coalition government are trying very hard to make amends with members of their respective communities.
And that is not too difficult to do. All they need to do is to blame everything on UMNO, which is believable seeing that Umno has not learned its lesson of 8 March 2008 and still remains arrogant gila.
To add to Umno’s problems, the Malays are also very angry with the Barisan Nasional government. But who are they going to blame? Perkasa is already saying that Umno is selling out the Malays. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself said the same thing many times since 8 March 2008, which you can see from his videos on YouTube.
Najib is trapped. His 1Malaysia is being criticised by both Perkasa as well as Dr Mahathir. His 1Malaysia is not even getting the support of his Deputy, Muhyiddin Yasin.
However, all is not well with the opposition either. So Barisan Nasional will most likely win again in the next election -- not because Barisan Nasional has become popular but rather because the main component of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR, is showing the same sickness being suffered by UMNO.
And PKR has not even come to power yet. Imagine what it would be like if Pakatan Rakyat comes to power and the sickness in PKR is not just symptomatic but is in fact inherent in all the opposition parties.
It would then make no difference whether the people vote in Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat.
On another front, Najib has obtained intelligence reports from CUEPACS that only 30% or so of its members support the Barisan Nasional government. 70% of its members, who represent the civil service, are clearly against the government. And the Special Branch agrees with this finding because Bukit Aman too has come to that same conclusion.
This is a very significant number and is very worrisome to Najib. In the absence of Chinese and Indian support, he will therefore need the Malay vote. And if even the Malay civil servants do not support the government then what hope does Umno have?
According to Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat, the former Secretary General of the Home Ministry, people of his rank -- the senior civil servants, the KSUs, TKSUs, KPs and TKPs -- can do something to arrest Umno’s sagging support. These people have headed the various ministries and departments and they would know how these civil servants behave and think. They know what it would take to recapture the support of these government servants.
Aseh and gang have formed a club or association called “PERSATUAN BEKAS PEGAWAI TINGGI KERAJAAN PENYOKONG UMNO”. And they have promised to help increase Najib’s and Umno’s popularity.
So, today, 16th October 2010, Najib will play host to 600 of these ex-senior civil servants at Sri Perdana to demonstrate that they endorse Najib and that Najib in turn endorses the Persatuan.
PKR, DAP and PAS had better wake up and beware! The race card is going to be played to the maximum. These senior civil servants are going to be told that if Pakatan Rakyat forms the next federal government then DAP is going to be very dominant. And once DAP ‘controls’ the federal government the Malays are going to be sidelined and become second-class citizens and slaves in their own country.
The Chinese and Indians are of course being told the same thing. Only this time it is the religion card that is being played. And they are being told, like what MCA said a few days ago, that once Pakatan Rakyat forms the federal government PAS will become dominant and Islam will be the law of the land.
To the Malays it is about DAP being in power if Pakatan Rakyat comes in. To the non-Malays it is about PAS being in power if Pakatan Rakyat comes in. So, to one group, it is about the fear of the erosion of Malay dominance while, to the other, it is about the fear of the rise of the dominance of Islam.
This is a win-win situation for Umno. If they can put the fear of race into the Malays and the fear of religion into the non-Malays then they get the support of both sides. The British call this the strategy of divide and rule. And the British has successfully used this strategy for hundreds of years.
Expect today’s meeting with Najib to be seditious and malicious. The warning of May 13 Version 2 is going to be bandied about. They are going to be told of the conspiracy by the non-Malays to rob the Malays of their own country. The Malays are going to be told that they will soon be reduced to what the natives or Blacks of South Africa once were in the days of Apartheid. They are going to be warned that their rights and privileges are going to be eroded if not abolished. They are going to be cautioned that even the monarchy may be abolished and Malaysia turned into a socialist republic where meritocracy will prevail and which will spell doom for the underprivileged and backward Malays.
And they hope with that Umno will regain the support of the Malays in the coming general election. And they hope with that Pakatan Rakyat will be denied the next federal government and the states currently under Pakatan Rakyat will return to Barisan Nasional. And they hope that Pakatan Rakyat will remain sleeping tonight as Najib and Umno does its song and dance routine and play host to 600 senior Malay civil servants who will be Barisan Nasional’s lifeline in the coming general election.
MT

Two by-elections at the same time

Nov 4 polls for Batu Sapi and Galas

S Pathmawathy
Oct 15, 10

The Election Commission (EC) has set Nov 4 as polling day for both the Batu Sapi and Galas by-elections.

With today's announcement, the nation will witness next month its 12th and 13th by-elections since the watershed 2008 general election.

EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the EC set Oct 26 for nominations for Batu Sapi, a parliament seat in Sabah, coinciding with that of Galas, a state seat in Kelantan.

Both seats fell vacant following the sudden death of their representatives - PBS parliamentarian Edmond Chong Ket Wah, who was killed in a motorbike accident on Oct 9, and PAS Galas assemblyperson Che Hashim Sulaima, who died of cancer on Sept 27.

Abdul Aziz explained that the by-elections would be held concurrently for three reasons. Firstly, the law does not prohibit the EC from holding both polls at the same time.

“Secondly, we have the experience of conducting by-elections simultaneously, such as in Bukit Gantang (Perak), Bukit Selambau (Kedah) and Batang Ai (Sarawak).

“And lastly, from our discussions earlier today, we concluded that as the time period in running the by-election is shorter, it will not prolong the politicking period. Most of all, it saves costs and reduces tension,” he said.

Abdul Aziz (right) said the nine-day campaign period would be sufficient for political parties, giving them enough time to choose their candidates.

Another pressing reason for the by-elections to be held concurrently is because there were many public holidays and party elections that might hinder the process.

The EC has appointed Mohamad Hamsan Awang Supain, secretary of the Sandakan Municipal Council, as the returning officer and he will be assisted by four EC officials and 405 election officers.

The nomination centre will be the Sandakan Community Hall which also double up as a polliing station, together with 11 schools and one state library for 45 streams.

RM1.3mil allocated for Batu Sapi

Abdul Aziz said the electoral rolls have been updated as of Oct 9 this year, with a total of 25,582 voters, including 1,535 postal voters.

In the 2008 general election, Chong, a PBS candidate, had won the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat with 9,479 votes, beating Independent candidate Chung Kwong Wing by a majority of 3,708 votes.

In the 2008 polls, the breakdown of voters according to race was: Chinese at 37.2 percent, Muslim bumiputera at 60.1 percent, non-Muslim bumiputera at 2.3 percent and others, 0.3 percent.

However, since the electoral roll has been updated to October this year, Abdul Aziz added that there had been a rise in the number of voters as young as 21 and, some over 90.

He also provided the breakdown of the current electoral roll according to the two state constituencies under Batu Sapi - Sekong and Karamunting

In Sekong, Chinese voters numbered 2,366 or 21 percent followed by Sabah bumiputeras at 6,031 or 53 percent.

The rest include 2,167 Malays (19 percent), 676 others (6 percent), 41 Sarawak bumiputeras (0.36 percent), 37 Indians (0.33 percent) and three Orang Asli 0.03 (percent).

In Karamunting, the Chinese make up 9,546 voters or 37 percent followed by Sabah bumiputeras at 9,565, also 37 percent.

The rest include 5,000 Malays (20 percent), 1,213 Others (5 percent), 92 Indians (0.36 percent), 158 Sarawak bumiputeras (0.62 percent) and eight Orang Asli (0.03 percent).

The EC chairperson disclosed that RM2.6 million has been allocated for the Batu Sapi and Galas by-elections, with RM1.3 million each.

Although voting has been slotted on a weekday, Abdul Aziz said the EC expected an 80 percent turnout.

“We are convinced that there will be more people voting on a working day. In Manek Urai, for instance, we had a turnout of 83 percent. While, during the other by-elections held at weekends, we received 70 percent turnout,” Abdul Aziz added.

Will Zaid pull out?

Zaid, Nurul guessing game, pullouts , U-turns expected

Aidila Razak and Hafiz Yatim
Oct 15, 10

Question marks still remain over the candidates for the top PKR posts, with less than 24 hours left for aspirants to accept their nominations - or forfeit their chances.

Despite about a month of campaigning, doubts still surround the candidacy of political bureau member Zaid Ibrahim, with word that last minute negotiations are still taking place.

Zaid announced his ambition for the deputy presidency early in the game, but now speculation is rife that he may step aside for Lembah Pantai MP Nurual Izzah Anwar, who has also qualified to vie for the post.

Zaid (left) had earlier said he would back out if Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim wanted in. However, last week he threw a curve ball by proposing the same "deal" to Nurul Izzah.

The Nurul Izzah variable was put to rest when the latter failed to qualify by the nominations deadline of Oct 10 - but she was back in play, thanks to a surprise decision of the PKR headquarters yesterday.

Yesterday, secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution announced that the party had accepted late nominations from six divisions, including two which nominated Nurul Izzah for deputy president, thus allowing her to enter the race.

Zaid's offer to opt out in favour of Nurul Izzah is being read by some as a way for him to vie for the top post, a move with the potential of severely damaging his reputation.

Those in his inner circle, too, could not confirm his candidacy as of this evening, while Zaid has yet to release the official statement that he told Malaysiakini he would do today.

Candidates have until 5pm tomorrow to confirm acceptance of their candidacy, with Oct 24 scheduled for the annoucement of the names all contestants for central leadership posts.

Horse-trading still going on

It is believed that last minute horse-trading is going on in a bid to restrict the battle for No 2 to Azmin Ali and Khalid Ibrahim, with Nurul Izzah going for vice-president and Zaid bowing out to be appointed to a key party post later.

Mustaffa Kamil Ayub, the Perak PKR chief and another deputy president hopeful, was widely believed to be pulling out of the race - but he confirmed late yesterday that he is in the race till the end.

Met today, Nurul Izzah (right) appeared exasperated by the former de-facto law minister's statements, saying she was both shocked and unsure why her name was dragged in.

She had earlier expressed her intention to contest only the division chief's post, but later threw her hat into the vice-presidential race as the nominations came through.

"I have decided, but will make my official announcement tomorrow morning as it's a bit busy this afternoon with the budget announcement," she said.

Those close to the parliamentarian, who is the daughter of PKR presdient Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and party de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, believe she will not take up Zaid's offer.

If that is so, there are those close to Zaid who see him vying for the deputy presidency, making it a four-way fight, with Nurul Izzah focusing on the vice-presidency.

Adding further to the mystery was Nurul, who was spotted close together with Azmin as they headed for the tabling of the budget in Parliament today.

Some reporters observed the two engaged in serious discussion as they came out of the tower block, with speculation rife that they could be continuing with their earlier discussion - which may have been about tomorrow's PKR nominations.

This could be the reason why incumbent PKR Youth (known by its Malay acronym AMK) leader Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin is having second thoughts about contesting for vice-president.

Despite announcing his intention weeks ago, it is understood that Shamsul will only decide tonight and that he might make a U-turn, citing reasons like not wanting to leave AMK in a lurch.

This decision may ruffle those running for AMK chief, including Badrul Hisham Shahrin, better known as Chegubard, who had apparently helped campaign for Shamsul to garner ample nominations for vice-presidency.

"Badrul told me that he has to fulfill his promise to Shamsul, that is to get him nominated for vice-president and we did that," said Badrul's campaign manager and incumbent AMK exco Zulkifli Ibrahim.

While an about turn by Shamsul (right) may put off the AMK delegates, it is unlikely to unnerve them because of his lacklustre track record.

While he has managed the remarkable feat of boosting the number of AMK divisions, only about one-fourth were eligible to participate in the nomination process.

"Only one-fourth of the AMK divisions were eligible to send in nominations for this election. What does this say about Shamsul's leadership since he took over from (former AMK chief) Ezam Mohd Nor?" Zulkifli asked.

Word on the ground is that negotiations between Shamsul and AMK chief hopeful Rafizi Ramli are ongoing, with the latter said to be making way for the former to go for deputy instead.

Lee Boon Chye not contesting

Not all of the 25 people who qualified for vice-president will be in the fight, with only four candidates confirmed as of today.

They include Kapar MP S Manickavasagam, former PKR communications director Jonson Chong, Padang Serai parliamentarian N Gobalakrishnan and former Federal Territory PKR deputy chairperson R Sureshkumar.

Current vice-president Dr Lee Boon Chye, also Gopeng MP, had already indicated he was not interested in vying for any post in the central leadership in the upcoming party elections.

"This will allow me to focus on my work in my consituency as Gopeng MP, as well as divisional head of Keadilan Gopeng," he said, thanking central leaders Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah and deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali for their support.

Over 200 members have also qualified to run for a spot in the supreme council.