KUALA LUMPUR: Temperatures rose at the divorce proceedings of Shahnaz Majid and Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib when the latter testifed yesterday that his ex-wife’s claim for conciliatory payment had become a political conspiracy involving, among others, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

It began when Mahmud Abu Bekir was asked by his lawyer Datuk Zainul Rijal about news articles quoting the Sarawak Report that had been attached as exhibits in his ex-wife’s suit against him.

The articles appeared in Harakah in March 2011 under the headlines “Aset anak KM Taib terbongkar” (CM Taib son’s assets revealed), “Dari Mana Aset RM1 bilion dikumpul?” (Where did RM1 billion in assets come from?), “Siapa Taib Mahmud di peta kekayaan Sarawak” (Who is Taib Mahmud on the Sarawak wealth map) and “Kemewahan Taib Mahmud diselubungi misteri” (Taib Mahmud’s luxury shrouded in mystery).

“These reports are ... aimed at tarnishing the good name of my father who was then the Sarawak chief minister and the head of Barisan Nasional in Sarawak,” he said in reference to Sarawak governor Tun Taib Mahmud.

Mahmud Abu Bekir named Claire Rewcastle Brown of the Sarawak Report, Bruno Manser Fund, Cullen Johnson and his wife who are now in jail, Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Shahnaz and her lawyers, as those allegedly orchestrating to change the political landscape of Sarawak.

Earlier, Mahmud told the court that it did not make sense for his ex-wife to claim that Taib was the richest man in Malaysia. He also denied that his earnings and properties were worth billions of ringgit. — The Malaysian Insider


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on September 3, 2014.