Lack of evidence thwarts action on Taib Mahmud

PETALING JAYA: Although there are 15 investigation papers that were opened to investigate former Sarawak Chief Minister Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud (pix) for corruption, none are ripe enough with evidence to charge him in court.
MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull said today that while there is some truth in the allegations made against Taib, but it would not stick in court as none could be tied up directly to him.
"We had opened 15 investigation files on him in the past years. The problem here is that Taib was not the one who made the decisions. He did not sit for the meetings. According to the law, the one who sits in a meeting and makes decisions is the party who can be found guilty of power abuse (if it is found to be the case). However, in this case, there was not a single case where he chaired a meeting and made decisions. Others made the decisions. We have filed in these investigation papers to the Attorney-General Chambers and so far the is no case.
"We are unable to implicate as the law does not allow us to do so unless we receive new information," he told reporters here after launching a book titled Corruption and Crime in Malaysia - Perception or Reality? authored by Transparency International President Datuk Akhbar Satar.
Taib who was Sarawak Chief Minister for 33 years between 1981 and 2014 was alleged to have abused his powers amassing billions of ringgit during his tenure.
He was alleged to be behind illegal logging activities and the award of projects in the state to hundreds of companies he and is family are said to have vested interest.
In May, Switzerland-based environmentalist group Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) said they had evidence of corrupt practices by Taib and was prepared to share it with local authorities.
Last week, Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad said although allegations were made against Taib no report has been lodged with the MACC.