Taib To Be Sued By His Own Constituents – Exclusive!

ARCHIVES 2012

By admin-s On Jan 17, 2012

Central to the accusations against the Chief Minister will be his involvement in the company Mesti Bersatu Sdn Bhd, of which he is personally registered as both a Director and Shareholder. Taib has always claimed that he “does no business in Sarawak”, however Mesti Bersatu has numerous interests, including substantial shares in the company Delta Padi Sdn Bhd.

Sarawak Report

The Chief Minister of Sarawak faces the humiliation of being prosecuted for cheating members of his own community in a Kuching court. Some of the potential plaintiffs are among his own constituents!

The unprecedented plan by a group of Taib’s fellow Melanau, till now considered to be his most loyal supporters, was revealed on air today by the new-look Radio Free Sarawak, during interviews about the latest land grab figures released by the Bruno Manser Fund(BMF).

The Swiss-based NGO has analysed who received what out of the huge areas of Native Customary Lands, alienated by the Chief Minister’s own government. Their figures (due out shortly) prove that the vast majority went into the hands of companies owned by himself and his family.

: From mangrove to oil palm – new look in Pulau Bruit

In recent years alone, according to BMF, nearly a quarter of a million hectares have been taken, then lucratively logged and converted into oil palm plantations by companies owned by the Taibs personally, along with their business partners.

Among the communities worst affected are the Melanau, who have now decided to join the flood of land grab cases against the relevant companies and Taib’s State Government.

This case could be uniquely damaging to the Chief Minister, because Taib himself is registered as one of the key owners of the community will be taking to court!

“Taib’s company cheated us”

: The Chief Minister’s business profile as a Director of major land company Mesti Bersatu, one of the owners of Delta Padi!

The BMF figures show that Delta Padi was the largest single recipient of the lands handed out to Taib’s own family! The company received a total of 28,000 hectares of plantation land in the affected Melanau areas on the island of Pulau Bruit and around the Sibu area in return for a nominal sum to the state of just RM 6million.

: RFS Presenter, Christina Suntai

Angry locals have now told Radio Free Sarawak that they received zero compensation in return for the confiscation of these lands and they say they were cheated out of their territories by false promises from Delta Padi, which the Chief Minister originally set up under the guise of a state-backed rice project.

As one community leader explained to RFS Presenter Christina Suntai, his people were told not to expect compensation when their land was confiscated in 2008, because the government would make sure they would all benefit from the rice project.

However, once the area was felled, destroying valuable mangrove areas, the company turned to oil palm instead and the locals were left with nothing:

“Taib cheated us” , he said. “This was supposed to be a paid scheme to help us, but now it is an oil palm plantation for his cronies and family” [Radio Free Sarawak, Nov 17th]

Zero compensation while Taib makes billions

The spokesman, an inhabitant of the now ravaged island of Pulau Bruit, also pointed out that his people had been granted the area way back during the Rajah Brooke era. Yet he said Taib, had removed it from his own people and given nothing in return.

Interviewees on the show expressed shock when they learnt of the enormous value of the timber removed by Delta Padi in their territory over the past two years and also the billions that the area will become worth to the Taib-owned company as an oil palm plantation.