Jabu Family Cash In On Native Lands
By Sarawak Report
News is circulating in the Betong area that Deputy Chief Minster’s family has just cashed in on Native Lands handed to them by the State of Sarawak (thanks to his political ally the Chief Minister, who is also the Planning and Resources Minister and Chairman of the Land Custody and Development Authority).
They are believed to have made a sale to FELCRA for RM 7 million. Not bad for lands that have been extracted from their rightful owners for a pittance!
Sarawak Report wonders if either FELCRA, which as a public federal body should publish all such purchases and deals (especially if the families of government Ministers are profiting from them) or indeed Jabu himself would confirm which of his many land acquisitions have been sold on in this way?
Or perhaps the lawyer handling the deal, Ani Solep, Advocate and Solicitor, would be so good as to make public the details of such a sale of once public lands to a public body?
Over shadowed by the Star Attraction? – Taib brings his own bride now revealed to be named Puan Sri Ragad Waleed Alkurdi
Taib’s chief Iban land-grab crony
It is, of course, well-known that it is not just the Chief Minister and his family who have been grabbing native customary lands for themselves. His Deputy, Jabu, is famous for having hugely profited also from land hand-outs in return for his total political loyalty.
Jabu has acquired enormous tracts of land for himself and his family during his lucrative years as Deputy to Taib Mahmud. Given his modest official salary and poor family background, it is inconceivable that he could have managed to raise the sums needed to buy these areas (now worth many millions of ringgit) if he had paid the market price.
However, as Taib’s political secretary Karim Hamza so recently explained, BN regard it as a perk of political office to take advantage of the “business opportunities” of land that might be offered to you “at a very cheap price”. The rest of the world regards this as corruption.
Enough to cover the wedding!
Jabu’s daughter Barbara, of course, got married this very weekend in great splendour. The Chief Minister and his own surprise new young wife attended the ceremony. Our exclusive photographs show that the bride and groom decked themslves out in full traditional Iban costumes to celebrate their union, but the real Iban population of their home areas and longhouses will be wondering how much of all this lavish entertainment was paid for at their expense?
How much of Jabu’s unexplained wealth has been gained from exploiting their own Iban people by receiving
Top table – nothing but the best for the Jabu wedding
lands taken by the state and then sold to him and his family at a very cheap price?
Herba Aromatics – owned by Jabu children
