KUALA LUMPUR: The controversial chief minister of Malaysia’s Sarawak state announced his resignation yesterday but is widely expected to retain influence behind the scenes and through a business empire built via what critics have called flagrant corruption.
One of Malaysia’s most powerful political figures, Taib Mahmud, 77, has been chief minister of resource-rich Sarawak since 1981, implementing ambitious plans to develop the backward state, Malaysia’s largest, on Borneo island.
But Taib has come under mounting criticism over the years amid allegations of blatant graft and environmentally destructive policies. “Taib Mahmud will retire as chief minister of Sarawak with effect from February 28,” Samuel Simon, a Sarawak government spokesman, said.
Simon said Taib -- who has a private jet and is known for driving around in his Rolls-Royce cars -- made the announcement in the state capital Kuching.
But Malaysia’s ruling coalition, whose grip on parliament has steadily weakened in recent elections due in part to public disgust with official corruption, is believed to have been pressing Taib to quit for years.
Taib’s Sarawak-based party is a member of the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition that has governed Malaysia since independence in 1957.
Simon did not reveal Taib’s future plans, but speculation is rife that he will seek to assume the ceremonial position of Sarawak governor.
“In the event he becomes the new governor, he will hold a symbolically influential position. It can be translated to mean he still retains power,” said political analyst Khoo Kay Peng.
AFP
