Yes Taib, Please Tell Us: Why Are There Still Poor Sarawakians?

The following comment by Sarawak Headhunter to the article "Why are there still poor Sarawakians?" on Sarawak Update by Dr Jeniri Amir was disallowed by Abdul Hakim Bujang who in an email to Sarawak Headhunter said:

"Your comment will make us close shop...if you want to make such deadly comment, go own up. the site is registered under my name. until you have such courage, keep such a comment to yourself."

Jamilah Taib's 2nd Most Expensive Mansion in Ottawa,  Canada

This is Sarawak Headhunter's reply:

"Sarawak Headhunter has kept his comments to himself for too long and will not do so any longer. Owning up is not a problem, but why make it easier for Taib and his goons to victimise oneself and family when he is the crook and Sarawak's Public Enemy No.1? 

No matter which way you twist things as appears to be your norm, this is not a question of courage, since Sarawak Headhunter is ever willing to face Taib publicly and say the same things straight to his face, foolhardy though this may be.

That time may come, but for now it is a question of strategy to be adopted against a more powerful and ruthless enemy.

The war is going to be long and hard-fought and many battles lie ahead. Sarawak Headhunter does not see the logic of exposing oneself to unnecessary slaughter. Call it cowardice if you like, but Sarawak Headhunter's tactics (together with those of other similar blogs) have been in some small measure successful in sowing the seeds of chaos amongst the ranks of Taib's evil regime and rallying the otherwise defenceless Sarawakians to the cause of their own defence.

We will continue to do so until the time has come for us to show who we really are, when the evil that is Taib is gone from our land and no longer oppresses our people and freedom, justice and equity prevail".

This was the comment that was disallowed:

"THIS is the reason why there are still poor Sarawakians:

"One source estimated that Taib has amassed $4 billion through his connections to the timber industry (Rainforest Action Network 1993). According to an interview with a former Sabah chief minister, Taib personally takes RM30* ($12) from each cubic meter of timber cut in the state (1 and 2 October 1996 interview with Harris Salleh). The chief minister is the state’s third largest timber concession holder (see Table 4.3 below). His appropriation of timber rent is in large measure intended to augment his and his family’s personal wealth."

http://sarawakheadhunter.blogspot.com/2008/04/taib-mahmuds-timber-politics.html

"There is also strong evidence indicating that a fantastic sum of timber rent has been diverted neither toward building development nor toward creating political support, but instead toward something that is vastly less societally-productive, namely, the personal financial gain of the chief minister, his family and his close personal friends…"

"Analysis of the managerial and equity positions of the timber concessions licensed to each of Sarawak’s top four private timber concession holding groups, as well as other evidence with respect to the fifth through the ninth top groups, suggests that not only the political supporters, but more significantly, the families and friends of the chief minister, are virtually omnipresent as managers and owners of these concessions. Anticipating this maze of ties, I hypothesized at this study’s outset that timber revenues would be low in Sarawak. In fact, the rate of official government rent capture in Sarawak is the lowest of any case in this study. Similarly, the rate of unofficial rent appropriation is the highest, reaching more than $160 per cubic meter during one year, despite the fact that timber royalties were increased by 50 percent in that same year."

http://taibandfamilyspublicwealth.blogspot.com/2010/07/chapter-4-unofficial-timber-rent_2822.html

* RM30 per m3 = RM72,064,380 (RM72.64 million) for a volume of 2,402,146 m3 of logs during this period with a total FOB value of RM1,080,000,115. This is NOT the real value. See http://sarawakheadhunter.blogspot.com/2009/03/timber-how-do-they-cheat.html.

If they have been doing this for so many years since the formation of Malaysia, not counting WHAT ELSE they have done to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor, then OF COURSE there will still be poor Sarawakians.

UNTIL POOR SARAWAKIANS WAKE UP!"