MCLM: Probe Taib graft claims
(The Malaysian Insider) – A civil group today sought for anti-graft authorities to investigate claims of corruption involving Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s 30-year tenure as Sarawak chief minister.
Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) president Haris Ibrahim’s call for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the corruption claims comes on the heels of impending polls in Sarawak, likely by the end of April.
Taib is also the president of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), which is part of the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN).
A strong win in Sarawak could boost the prime minister’s confidence to call a snap general election. National polls are only due in 2013.
The MCLM’s call today also follows the netting of two former MCA leaders, Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy, over their alleged roles in the ongoing Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) corruption scandal.
“For years, the alternative media has been highlighting claims of corruption involving Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and yet there is no one single concrete initiative by the federal and state governments or by then ACA and present MACC to investigate the matter.
“Taib has been accused of milking Sarawak’s wealth at the expense of its people by abusing his positions as finance minister and chief minister to make sure that almost all state contracts go to companies that he and his family own,” Haris said in a statement.
