Sarawak Report
Ibrahim Mahmud – an honest policeman sucked into the family corruption?
One very old adage is that you can’t bring your material wealth into the next world.
Plenty of ancient cultures hoped otherwise, packing fabulous riches into the tombs and pyramids of greedy past rulers. But it was the tomb raiders who had the last laugh on them.
More recent sufferers from excessive greed have invested in cryogenic freezing technology, in the hope they can buy immortality. Or they have simply supposed they could set up a dynasty that would always revere them by passing on the money to their children.
However, sooner or later, those children or grandchildren will succumb to the consequences of unearned wealth, plunging into fast lives, alcohol, drugs and despair. They will certainly forget to revere the old money-grabbers, who supplied their original riches.
Did Taib think of these things as he buried his brother this week?
Ibrahim’s wealth
Ibrahim Mahmud, like all his ex-colleagues, could have retired to his police pension. After all, unlike most of the other Taib family scroungers and hangers on, he had at least pursued a respectable career.
However, what was good enough for others turned out not to be enough for the brother of the CM!
Of course, if Taib had run the country less corruptly, then that police pension could have been a lot more generous. But, rather than sharing, the Taibs have always grabbed resources that should have gone to the state to pay for such improvements for honest working people.
Harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle?
Investigations by Sarawak Report have already detailed some of the corrupt methods by which Taib enriched his now dead brother, at the expense of the people of Sarawak and his former fellow state employees.
We showed how the Chief Minister abused his power to secretively hand vast areas of state and NCR territories to companies owned by Ibrahim at nominal prices.
This meant that Dayaks were thrown off their lands and their forests were cut down without compensation to them and without any benefit to the state, all so that Ibrahim could sell on the concessions for a massive profit and make himself rich before he died.
Masretus
One of these shoddy deals was Masretus Plantations. Leaked Land & Survey Department details show that Taib awarded a massive concession of NCR land in Sungai Retus to a company owned by Ibrahim, Masretus Plantations, for a mere half million ringgit premium in 2008.
Sustainable palm oil?
Yet, within just six weeks Ibrahim had flogged off the 750 hectares to a major oil plan company, Tradewinds, for the dramatically increased sum of seven and a half million ringgit!
Not many police officers make that sort of profit from a month’s work. But then, not many police officers get offered that sort of opportunity!
The scandal is that not only did the State of Sarawak receive so little from this valuable deal (money that could have been channelled into better pensions for government workers), but the rightful owners of these lands were deliberately kept ignorant of what had gone on.
By the time the dwellers of Sugai Retus had discovered that Taib had handed their rightful territories to enrich his brother, the courts told them they had passed the time period for complaining!
It is episodes like this that clearly show how Taib has enriched his family by impoverishing the people and the state.
Meanwhile, the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil would do well to consider on what grounds it granted Tradewinds its membership status, given that environmental and social responsibility are the key criteria? Why should international buyers of palm oil be duped into believing that the product of Tradewinds did nothing to damage the environment or peoples’ lives?
Amgreen Plantation
Equally greedy and corrupted was the even bigger money-making deal that Ibrahim made out of the company Amgreen Plantation. Sarawak Report has exposed how Taib handed no less than 5,000 hectares to this outfit, all under the guise of making a donation to the Sarawak Foundation, which is supposed to make grants to students. For this reason the company was originally called Yayasan Sarawak Plantation.
But, in fact, behind this front of providing some public good, Taib made sure that the lion’s share of the company was owned by Ibrahim. This is all made clear by the details of yet another huge profit-making sale, this time to the company Kumpulan Firma Bhd just last year.
The details of the sale, which were publicised on the Malaysian Stock Exchange show that Firma bought 80% of a company called Network Jaya for RM21 million. The stock exchange documents explain that the reason for the purchase was that Network Jaya owned Victoria Square Plantations, which in turn owned 65% of Amgreen Plantations!
Ibrahim Mahmud owned 50% of Network Jaya, which was valued at over RM20 million, because of its stake in Amgreen Plantation!
Since Ibrahim turns out to own over 50% of Network Jaya that meant a fat pay out of RM11million. So, how much profit had he made? Our leaked Land & Survey Department records show that Taib had only asked for a premium of RM3.7 million for the whole concession of 5,000 hectares. Network Jaya would have only paid roughly half of that.
So, Ibrahim and his partners had paid under RM2million to the State for land they then sold for over RM20 million (and they got to keep 20% of it)! This excerpt below from our Land & Survey Department documents shows the detail of the corrupt deal. It also shows how Ibrahim’s company Victoria Square Development received further land in a separate handout from brother Taib!
Amgreen’s 5000 hectares had been offered at just RM3.7 premium to the state. Note that Amgreen shows the same address and same phone numbers as Ibrahim Mahmud’s company Victoria Plantation. So much for it being run by Yayasan Sarawak!
So, who lost out to make Ibrahim so rich? Well, the owners of the land, students and the taxpayers of Sarawak did, of course.
Now, he will be passing this wealth on to his family it is assumed. That should make his son Ahmad Ibrahim, currently one of Taib’s political favourites, very compliant. His corrupted old uncle is expected to encourage ‘the people of Mukah’ to ‘select’ this nephew to stand as their BN candidate at the next election.
SR suggests that the people of Mukah should consider whether they really want to continue to be robbed by another generation of the corrupted Taib family. It is their absolute right to chose someone else!
Sarawak Pulp Industries
Of course there have been plenty of other means for enriching family members like Ibrahim. None perhaps more outrageous than Sarawak Pulp Industries.
This is yet another Taib backed enterprise, supported by the State owned STIDC. Sarawak Pulp Industries has been given well over 10,000 hectares of oil palm, again for less than half a million ringgit when it could eventually be sold for tens of millions!
Sarawak Pulp Industries was also commissioned to construct the huge Bintulu Similajau Industrial Park, supported by public money. The public face of the company was Taib crony Ting Peck Kiing. So who owns the major shareholder, Hanib Corportation?
Guess who owns Hanib Corporation!
It will come as no surprise that a major shareholder of this massive state company, which has benefited from such vast concessions and contracts is none other than Ibrahim Mahmud.
And look who else has an even larger stake – Taib’s own daughter Hanifah! The other equally major shareholder is Taib’s daughter in law Anisa, wife of playboy son Sulaiman. When is this milking of the Sarawak State going to come to an end and when is the MACC going to do something about it ?
Family Affair – the Hanib Corporation is the owner of Sarawak Pulp Industries
Cats Radio
One of the main reasons that Taib has got away with all this enrichment of his own family at the expense of Sarawak has been that he has taken care to control all the papers and radio in the State, so nobody has been able to hear or read about what he has been getting up to.
Take the example of Cats Radio. This is the only private radio station that Taib, in his capacity as Chief Minster, has agreed to give a licence to. Of course, it is easy to see how he controls what it said on the public radio, because it is paid for by the state.
But, what of this private radio station that has been so lucky to be the only recipient of a licence? Well Cats Radio is owned by the company Kristal Harta.
So who owns Cats Radio?
And, lo and behold, the owner of Kristal Harta is none other than Hanib Corporation! So, Sarawak’s only “private’ and ‘independent’ radio station is run by Taib’s daughter, daughter-in-law and Uncle Ibrahim, who postured as a Director of the Radio Station as he did as a Director of Sarawak Pulp Industries.
Private and Independent?
Ibrahim Mahmud could have been buried with a great deal more dignity this week if he had not been dragged into such filthy corruption and had remained instead an honest policeman charged with the duty of upholding the law.
Meanwhile, the truth at last about the Taibs can be read on the internet… and listened to on Radio Free Sarawak, which has declined to apply for a corrupted licence from Taib’s Sate of Sarawak!
Hornbill Unleashed 
The natives love BN so much and what’s a fuss.
Comment by Rit — February 9, 2012 @ 9:59 PM |
Meanwhile for the poor Dayaks to claim justice over their own lands simply a crime against Konsep Baru
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LCDA Land Bill aimed at ‘punishing natives’
by Joseph Tawie, FMT, 23 Jun 2011
The proposed Land Custody and Development Authority Bill currently being debated clearly shows that the BN government does ‘not trust’ its courts, says DAP.
KUCHING: The bill to bar Sarawak natives from seeking legal redress for grievances involving their native customary rights (NCR) to land is draconian, says Sarawak DAP.
State chairman Wong Ho Leng said the move clearly showed that the government of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud was bent on depriving the natives of their legal rights to their land.
“This bill is draconian in the topmost degree. It is unfair to stop the natives from going to court, even when they receive no dividends or benefits from joint ventures (to develop the land).
“It is a draconian law which only the Barisan Nasional (BN) has the audacity to introduce,” he said when debating the Land Custody and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2011 at the 10th State Legislative Assembly sitting.
The bill was introduced by State Land Development Minister James Masing.
Wong said DAP never opposed the development of NCR land so long as it is “meaningful and for the general good of the natives”.
“Let me assure this House that contrary to the lies of Deputy Chief Minister (Alfred Jabu Anak Numpang) uttered so many times in this House, DAP never oppressed or suppressed the opportunities of the Dayaks in NCR land development.”
Earlier, Wong, who is also the Bukit Assek assemblyman, said that while Sarawak natives had helped BN secure a more than two-thirds majority in the recent state election, the BN state government did not deem it fit to reward them positively.
“This bill is introduced to punish the natives.
“Less than two months before the state election, on Feb 18, the Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) and the state government had lost a legal battle in a case involving the development of NCR land.
“Clearly, this bill is introduced to plug what was so profoundly shown in the judgment of Justice Linton Albert in Kuching High Court in the popularly known Pantu Land case, where the learned judge ruled against the LCDA and the state government,” he said.
Wong said that for the LCDA to develop the land, it is paramount to obtain the consent of the native landowners first, adding that the consent must be “genuine and sincere” and not the Ali-Baba type of agreement.
Development agreement
Wong said the question is how to secure “genuine consent” from the landowners.
“Land titles may be issued to the tuai rumah (longhouse chief). But the land is enjoyed by all the longhouse folk.
“Will a development agreement between the LCDA and the tuai rumah be sufficient to bind the majority or all the longhouse folk?
“The question hinges on the extent of the authority of the tuai rumah,” he said.
Wong said he had received many complaints from Selangau, where the penghulu and tuai rumah had signed agreements for oil palm plantations.
But the penghulu and the tuai rumah had signed the agreements without prior consultation with the longhouse folk.
“Under the bill, the development agreement cannot be revoked, for the only requirement is that the agreement is signed by the LCDA with the owner, even if the majority of the longhouse folk do not know of the agreement or even object to it.
“In the example that I had given, a tuai rumah holding the land title, or occupying native customary land, can be persuaded or even bought in order to sign the development agreement.
“His longhouse folk have no say or right to consultation. Seen in this light, the bill is unjust.
“Conversely, suppose the tuai rumah is not convinced that a development agreement is viable or beneficial to the longhouse folk, the bill clearly provides a way out in favour of the LCDA.
“This is done by forcing a development agreement to be signed by ‘any other party.’
“Under clause 6(b) of the bill, it clearly shows that someone without authority from the community can sign the development agreement with the LCDA.
“We cannot allow a stranger who has no right to sign a development agreement to bind the tuai rumah and the lawful occupiers of the land,” he said.
‘Don’t cheat’
Wong warned the government that it can expect conflict to arise in the native community and that there may even be bloodshed.
“If you want to develop the NCR land, make sure that there must be sincerity and honesty.
“Do not sign the agreement using the LCDA’s name and then give it to a crony or subsidiary company. That is plain cheating.
“LCDA is a government agency. Do not cheat on the natives,” he said.
Pointing out that the Dayaks are the poorest people in Sarawak, Wong said that they are a friendly community and will try every means to avoid trouble.
“But history has shown that they will fight to their last breath in order to protect their land, for land is life to them,” he said.
Wong said with development agreements which may last 60 years, it is unavoidable that there may be disputes that will land in court.
“How can you, the BN government, be so heartless as to slam the door of the court on their face?
“They are already in court; they have their rights to resort to legal remedies.
“You are not allowed to shut them out. Clearly this violates a person’s fundamental right to seek redress in a court of law.
“Clearly, the state BN government is showing that it does not trust the court,” he said.
Undreamed-of wealth
Wong said that many natives had entered into development agreements with the government believing that they would be receiving undreamed-of wealth.
According to the handbook which is “the official communication guide on NCR development matters”, the natives would receive an annual dividend of up to RM40,000 calculated on the basis of crude palm oil at RM1,400 per tonne.
He said the price has since been tripled.
In the Pantu land case, no dividend was paid to the natives although six years had passed since the commencement of the oil palm plantation and fruits having been harvested for three years.
“It is justified for the NCR landowners to cancel the development agreement since there is no benefit to them.
“With land taken from them, they have no other income,” he said.
On the issue of dividends paid to landowners, Wong said that for 13 years – from 1996 to 2009 – the dividends paid out was a mere RM2,301,116.86.
“Divide that by 406,425 hectares, it means that the dividends paid out to the natives is less than 17 sen per year. It is not even enough to buy a cigarette.
“Is there anything wrong with the accounts? Are there no natives on the board of directors of LCDA to keep an eye on the accounts?
“Clearly, the natives in Sarawak have been given a raw deal, ” Wong said.
He urged the government to come clean with the current status of payouts to natives.
“Have the other dividends been paid out?
“Please update this House. The amount of dividend paid out (thus far in the Pantu case) is a far cry from the RM40,000 per year that was promised under the handbook.
“If so little dividend is paid out, it means that the fundamental purpose of the joint venture has collapsed.
“Yet, the natives are left with no remedy,” he said.
Wong added that if natives were receiving such low dividends, it simply meant that their legitimate expectations of mutual benefit under the joint venture is destroyed.
“In such a situation, to insist that the natives continue to starve under the joint venture is clearly oppressive,” he said.
Comment by Kamus — February 7, 2012 @ 11:51 AM |
So how much did he take it with him? In the end all his fortune will eventually be squandered by his children on drugs, women, expensive cars etc. It will become a curse rather than a blessing. We have seen it oft enough. Worse, you will forever be tagged as a thief who stole from the people and will be cursed by them even when you are 6 feet underground.
Comment by apaijugah — February 7, 2012 @ 11:34 AM |