Tuan Speaker, this year, marks the 50th Anniversary of Sarawak‟s Independence
from Britain by joining with Malaya and Sabah together with Singapore to form the
federation of Malaysia. Sarawakians, on Malaysia Day is the 16 September 1963 were
freed from colonialization.
From that day, we Sarawakians are in charge of our own destiny. We adopted a system of parliamentary democracy with elections for the State Legislative Assembly and Federal Parliament conducted at regular five year‟s interval.
During each election, there have been free and enthusiastic participation by all political
parties including those from the Opposition. The citizens in Sarawak make their choice
and give their mandate to the political party that wins a majority to govern the state of
Sarawak.
The electoral choice before the rakyat has since the first direct election in 1970,
been between the service or track record of the governing party, namely Barisan
Nasional seeking a renewed mandate from the people. Hence, the promises and
grouses from the Opposition parties. The voting preferences made by the citizens of this
country, free from the control of any external influences. The political parties involved
are all registered as Malaysian organizations. That is the essence of the exercise of
sovereign power by the people of a free and independent nation like Malaysia.
Since the State Election of 2006, however, a new phenomenon has surfaced.
External groups without any mandate from the people of Sarawak have carried out
activities intended to influence the outcome of our general election, both at State and
Parliamentary level to undermine or cause to collapse of the elected leadership of the
State Government. Their motivation is purportedly their concern about the governance of
the state and the alleged plight of the indigenous people but if what they do is subjected
to impartial and careful analysis, their hidden agenda could clearly be discerned and that
is to cause political instability, halt the development momentum and the economic
growth that Sarawak has achieved since Malaysia Day, under its own democratically
elected Government. And above all to install a Government in Sarawak that would be
indebted to them and those who funded their despicable activities behind the fascade of
these external forces is their plan to make Sarawak subservient to their agenda and
those of their financiers.
To me, this is a disguised attempt to introduce a disgust form of a
recolonialization. This external group, I am referring to include the Global Witness, the
Bruno Manser Fund, Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak. None of these
organizations are registered in or are operating in Sarawak.
They are not established by Sarawakians or at the request of Sarawakians. These groups together with their cohorts specialize in making malicious allegations to smear the State Government and its
leaders including myself. Their scandalous publications normally appear just before a
state election or a federal election. Such timing cannot be just pure coincidence, Tuan
Speaker.
From December 2010 till April 2011, that is in the run up to the state General
Election in May 2011. A series of articles were published in a Sarawak Report a news
portal publishing from England by residents of that country. These articles made
sensational allegations about „land grab‟, wealth accumulations and indulgence in
corrupt practices by myself and some of my Ministers.
These allegations were repeatedly aired by Radio Free Sarawak, a radio station founded by a British woman and broadcasting from outside Malaysia. At that time I did not want to dignify these
irresponsible purveyors of malicious falsehoods by responding to their allegations which
I am fully aware were entirely baseless. As example, it was a less that I have bank
accounts in Switzerland but at my request even the Swiss Authorities have not been
able to find any account. That is attributed to me.
Then when Petronas awarded a contract to a company within the Rimbunan
Hijau Group, which was allegedly friendly to me, to explore oil and gas of Bintulu, I was
accused for being involved in the award of that contract. As everyone knows Petronas is
not under my control or subject to my authority.
Yet such frivolous accusations were made against me very much in defiant of what the truth was. However, the opposition particularly the DAP and PKR decided to use these false allegations in an attempt to gain political mileage even to the extent of freely distributing thousands of transistor
radios and leaflets to the people especially in the rural areas so that there could be wide
dissemination of these foreign generated falsehoods.
In view of this, like any true believer in democracy, I decided to submit myself to
the judgment of our voters, who know me and what I am like, through my service to this
state for more than 30 years and after undergoing at least Seven State Election beside
the federal elections.
The outcome of the State Election 2011 was that the State Barisan Nasional won
not only the popular votes but more than two third in fact more than three fourth of the
seats of this august House. By any standard this cannot be dismissed as anything but a
super majority itself. The party that I belong to PBB recorded 100% success in all the
seats it fielded candidates. The State Election of 2011 must have been free and fair
because there was not a single election petition filed to challenge any of the results for
the seats won by the State Barisan Nasional.
The rakyat of Sarawak had in 2011 election given unequivocally their verdict on
the allegations made by this foreign organization and media. They had comprehensively
rejected these allegations and the blatant attempts inspired by foreigners to cause the
downfall of the State Barisan Nasional leadership. These foreigners not only failed, but I
think they failed miserably. They should have realized what they are doing particularly to
paint a very bad picture of the State government and cast it leadership in very poor light,
had been unconvincing and largely ignored by the voters who know better about our
leadership here in our government from person‟s knowledge.
The State government under my leadership had clearly mandate to govern until the next State Election. I am grateful for the support of the people of Sarawak and will continue to serve them based
on the mandate they have given to me and my government in 2011.
I have every right to reject the shameless and unethical campaign by some of the
opposition Members that I should resign as Chief Minister. The DAP does not have the
mandate and the blessing from the people of Sarawak to make such a call and therefore
I chose to ignore it, as it deserve to be.
Just before the recent Parliamentary Election in March this year, Global Witness, a London based organization which links to Bruno Manser Fund and a Foundation promoted by an internationally renowned currency speculator, broadcast video tapes on conversations between its hired so-called
“investigator” Andrew Stewart, and some Sarawakians including two of my cousins.
Through an unscrupulous process of entrapment and leading questions from the hired
investigator, opinions were expressed by individuals about how land for plantation were
alienated in Sarawak and the schemes by those who obtained such land to maximize
quick profits and fraudulently avoided Malaysian income tax. Even a newly qualified
lawyer would understand that such illicitly procured evidence from unsuspecting third
parties could not stand up to the basic standard of proof of guilt before judicial tribunal
against any person they were referring to. We can in fact, dismiss it as pure hearsay if
you are a trained lawyer.
The opposition, especially the DAP gleefully disseminated these tapes and their contents. Again, I permitted myself to be judged by the people through their votes which is eminently going to be casted in the Parliamentary Election.
In the recently concluded Parliamentary Election, the State Barisan Nasional, led
by myself, won 25 out of the 31 seats, more than two-third of the Parliamentary seats in
Sarawak. Three Oppositions… (Interruption)
Tuan Speaker: The Chief Minister is making a defense. Let‟s hear the Chief Minister
first. Listen to Chief Minister first. Proceed, proceed.
Ketua Menteri Sarawak (Y.A.B. Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib bin Mahmud): You listen
to what I say first, and you will know where you will be. Three opposition candidates who
were fond of making land grab allegations against the Government and launching NCR
land cases in Court relating to plantation land, failed by wide margins to be elected in
Limbang, Lubok Antu and Sri Aman.
The only interpretation of the result of the parliamentary votes, is that the people of Sarawak overwhelmingly rejected the allegations made by Global Witness and had expressed their utter disgust against foreign interference and manipulation in their affairs of an independent and free people
of Sarawak. The voters have also shown that those who willingly allowed themselves to
be conduits for foreign malicious falsehoods, cannot be entrusted with the powers to
govern and independent sovereign country like Malaysia.
After the release of the Global Witness tapes, there were calls by the Opposition
that I should be investigated for so-called crimes revealed by those tapes. Whilst I do
not fear investigation, so that the truth can be fully unearthed, the Opposition who
claimed to champion civil or human rights, do not even feel that I am entitled to that well
and entrenched legal principle-the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a
Court of Law. At the behest of the foreign forces, they wanted to proclaim guilt by
staging their political drama that I must immediately resign so that the State Government
would be thrown into the dis-array and the agenda of the foreign forces be accomplished.
Notwithstanding the electorate‟s emphatic rejection of what was revealed in the
Global Witness tapes, DAP Members, in particular the Honourable Member for Kota
Sentosa, have continued to refer to those tapes as if they contained the gospel truth. In
the past, I gave him the benefit of the doubt due to his lack of understanding of State
Government financial procedures and system.
But, his repetitious harping on allegations made by external media and organizations just before the State General Election of 2011 and the recent Parliamentary Poll has convinced me that his plain malicious intent to cause considerable damage to the reputation of the Government and the integrity of
its financial system.
Through his abrasive style of politicking, he not only lowered the dignity of this
august House, but also tries to create distrust amongst the people for those who have
been legitimately given the mandate by the Rakyat to govern this State. By the manner
he continuously articulated his arguments inside and outside this august House, based
on their allegations in the foreign media and promoted by foreign organizations, he
maliciously sought to achieve what he miserably failed to attain at General Elections to
change the Government.
To Honourable Member for Kota Sentosa … (Interruption)
Ketua Menteri Sarawak (Y.A.B. Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib bin Mahmud): Sit down, I
don‟t give way to you. You have proven yourself not to be a fair and level headed
Speaker in this House. To the Honourable Member for Kota Sentosa, I would asked him
to seriously reflect in the spirit of Sarawakian patriotism on what I have said about the
blatant and continues interference and manipulation by foreigners and foreigner
organizations in the affairs of our state and to hit the unmistakable message of the vast
majority of our people to reject the sinister activities of these people who have no
mandate to publish all these malicious false hoods against the State Government and its
duly elected leaders.
So long as they are Sarawakians like you guys in the Opposition who persist in
being willing tools for the dissemination of these false and or exaggerated allegations,
the State is at risk of becoming subservient to these foreign manipulators with potential
dire economic, social and political consequences. The State Government has already
instituted … (Interruptions)
Ketua Menteri Sarawak (Y.A.B. Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib bin Mahmud): Listen to the
next one. Listen to the next one. The State Government has already instituted legal
action against the Honourable Member for Kota Sentosa for declamanation pertaining
for what he said outside this august House on the State Budgetary and Financial
system. I hope you remember that.
For myself, I will consider filing court proceedings against him unless within the next three months he apologises for the defamatory words uttered against me outside and inside this august House, which containined false and malicious allegations about my administration of the State. He must be aware of what he had said about me and I will leave it to the good conscience, to his own good conscience
to decide if he would withdraw those allegations and duly apologise.
Tuan Speaker, I have now decided to deal with the activities of the external
forces and the elements after the Rakyat in Sarawak has passed the judgment at the
2011 State General Election and the recent Parliamentary Election, against these
foreign interference and manipulation of our affairs by overwhelming rejecting the
allegations made against me and my Government.
I fully understand that as a Member of the Executive arm of Government and as
an elected representative for the people of Balingian, I am accountable to this august
House. Hence, on 14th May, 2007, I made a Personal Statement in this Dewan under
Standing Order 22 on allegations published in the Japan Times but reproduced in
Malaysiakini that I had been a beneficiary of illegal payments made by members of a
Japanese Shipping Cartel for the shipment of timber logs from Sarawak to Japan. In my
Personal Statement I categorically denied these allegations. Japan Times subsequently
published a clarification that the Inland Revenue Service in Tokyo had confirmed that
these payments were legitimate expenses and not illegal payments and withdrew the
allegations against me.
Consequently, Malaysiakini, in January 2012, tendered an unqualified apology to me in the KL High Court for publishing these baseless allegations against me. I have been vindicated when the truth was exposed!
Also, when issues such as the award of Government contract to Titanium Sdn.
Bhd, a company wherein one of my sons has an interest, for the replacement and
building of rural bridges, and the payments made to the Company by the Government,
were raised in this august House, my Ministers gave detailed explanation in response to
those issues which rejected compressively any improper practice. This can be seen from
the Dewan;s Hansard dated 28th November, 2006, 27th November, 2007 and 21st May,
2010.
I wish to inform and assure this august House that I have not placed myself in
any position or situation of conflict of interests; and in cases where my family or relatives
were involved, I have consistently refrained from participation in the making of decisions
affecting them.
I do not favor relatives in matters involving them and the State. An example is the case concerning the revocation of Timber Licence T/2079 issued to Keruntum Sendirian Berhad. My cousin, Norlia binti Tun Abdul Rahman, has an interest in this company and in the management of its logging operations. Neither the Government nor I agreed to any compromise over the case when the matter came up
for hearing in the Court of Appeal in March this year. As a result, the appellate Court
upheld the Judgment of the High Court which ruled that the revocation of the said was
valid and lawful. Keruntum has now decided to take its case to the Federal Court.
In respect of Keruntum case, the Law must be allowed to take its course even though it
involves my own cousins.
I will respect and honour the principle of my accountability to this august House
and to the people of Sarawak who have repeatedly given me the mandate to lead the
Government of this State since 1981 over a period of seven State Elections. Neither the
State Government nor I am accountable to the foreign NGO‟s and foreign reporters or
broadcasters. Neither would I allow them to try to hold me accountable for matters
concerning my administration of the State. To respond or react to what they wrote about
me would be to acknowledge that they have a right to interfere in or participate in the
affairs of this country.
I cannot compromise the sovereignty of the country by engaging with these
foreign elements, and I hope this is understood by most of or if not all my colleagues
who have been elected to this House, perhaps to Parliament.
