Mar 1, 11
Malaysiakini
Some 20 protesters comprising Malaysians and foreigners have staged a ‘Stop Timber Corruption’ demonstration in the British capital to highlight alleged abuses of long-serving Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
The demonstration, organised yesterday by NGO Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), was held outside a property company controlled by the Taib family, Ridgeford Properties Ltd, in central London.
It was led by Clare Rewcastle Brown, the sister-in-law of former British premier Gordon Brown, and Sarawak native Peter John Jaban.
Rewcastle Brown is the founder of the critical website Sarawak Report, which has been exposing Taib’s alleged corruption and global business empire.
Peter is the DJ of Radio Free Sarawak, an independent short-wave radio station broadcasting from London. It focuses on Sarawak activists and communities defending their land rights and opposing abuses by Taib.
Protesters unfurled posters with Taib’s portrait that said ‘Stop timber corruption in Sarawak’ and ‘Freeze Taib assets’.
Other posters read ‘Chief Minister of Sawarak – 30 years is enough!’, ‘Stop illegal logging on native lands’ and ‘Respect natives’ rights’.
A similar demonstration organised by BMF was held in downtown Ottawa, Canada, outside another property company controlled by Taib’s family – Sakto Corporation.
Last week, BMF released a list of 49 companies located across four continents around the globe, which it claims are linked to Taib and his family.
The intention of the blacklist is to help anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering authorities in the countries listed, to identify and freeze allegedly illicit assets accumulated by Taib and his family, the Swiss-based BMF said.
Following the release of the list, BMF launched an online petition on its website, calling on the authorities in the respective countries to investigate Taib and his family’s financial dealings and freeze their assets for subsequent restitution to the people of Sarawak.