MACC confirms probe on Taib Mahmud ongoing, but no details

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Abu Kassim Mohamed confirmed that its probe against Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud was ongoing but declined to give any details.

"I cannot give you any details. The investigation is on," he told a press conference on Friday.

The 75-year old Taib has been the target of whistle-blower blogs and websites, as Sarawakians - fed up of decades of misrule and corruption - turned to the Internet to vent their frustration.

Especially effective has been the Sarawak Report and the Bruno Manser Fund, two foreign websites dedicated to toppling Taib.

Sarawak Report is run by Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the sister-in-law of British prime minister Gordon Brown, while BMF is named after the Swiss activist who went missing in Sarawak in 2000.

Clare spent her early childhood years in Sarawak, while Bruno crossed swords many times with Taib over illegal logging and the destruction of Sarawak rainforests. It is not known where Sarawak Report and BMF get their funding from.

There is some talk within Taib's own circles that the money actually comes "Putrajaya", the federal capital and seat of the Najib administration. Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Umno party have been keen to break Taib's stranglehold on the resource-rich state.

- Malaysia Chronicle

Written by Stan Lee, Malaysia Chronicle