Correction and Apology

What is the Chief Minister’s Official Salary?

Sarawak Report has had its attention drawn to an inaccuracy regarding its reporting of the Chief Minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud’s, official salary.  For this we apologise, as we have attempted, despite a conspicuous lack of public information, to stick to accurate and objective reporting.

In this context we have frequently questioned how Mr Mahmud’s reported remuneration of 20,000 ringgit per month could have supported a multi-million dollar property empire across the globe.

We are now advised that the Chief Minister’s official salary is MYR 13,000 per month (excluding allowances or perks, such as the sole, exclusive use of a personal jet courtesy of the Sarawak taxpayer).

Nevertheless it is important not to forget the numerous other salaries that the Chief Minister has simultaneously obtained through awarding himself a number of key top jobs at once.  On top of his Chief Minister’s salary he has enjoyed his Federal Parliamentarian salary of MYR 10,000 per month, his State Assemblyman’s salary of MYR 8,000 per month.  With great energy he also commands the two other key financial offices of Sarawak in his roles as Finance Minister MYR 9,000 per month  and State Planning and Resource Management Minister another MYR 9,000 per month.

This all totals a very attractive MYR 49,000 per month, the sort of salary that any Chief of State would be pleased to receive.  However, Sarawak Report remains baffled as to how such a salary could begin to support the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property across the globe, which we have unveiled as belonging to his family in recent reports.