Son’s divorce settlement battle exposes unexplained wealth of ex-Sarawak ruler Abdul Taib Mahmud

Abdul Taib Mahmud, who ruled the Malaysian state of Sarawak for more than three decades, retired in February with a family fortune estimated in the US$1 billion range.

Now, some details of Taib's family wealth are surfacing in a divorce settlement battle between his elder son, Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, and his ex-wife, who is seeking a separation payout of more than US$120 million.

Abdul Taib Mahmud became the country's longest-serving politician as he oversaw finance, planning and resources management in Malaysia's biggest state, source of about half the nation's crude oil output. He was given a "relatively free hand" to govern Sarawak on Borneo island because of his pivotal role in keeping Prime Minister Najib Razak's National Front coalition in power, said Andrew Aeria, an associate professor at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

"The former chief minister was very powerful and influential, not only in Sarawak but in national politics on account of his experience, knowledge and longevity in office," said Aeria, who wrote the 2004 report, "Political Business in Sarawak: Productive or Lumpen Capitalist?"

Yet details of the wealth accumulated by Taib and his family have been difficult to confirm. The legal tussle between his son and his ex-wife, Shahnaz Abdul Majid, has thus been closely followed. A forensic accounting of Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib's assets has been presented to the court by lawyers for Shahnaz. Mahmud is the deputy chairman of Kuala Lumpur-listed Cahya Mata Sarawak, the largest infrastructure group in Sarawak. He personally controls assets valued at about US$300 million, according to forensic accounting firm Ferrier Hodgson's Malaysian venture, which Shahnaz hired. He also has stakes in 49 companies, according to documents presented by the accounting firm in court.

The value of Mahmud's holdings could be "substantially" higher because 18 of those companies are exempted from filing their annual financial statements to regulators and couldn't be valued, Andrew Heng, a partner at Ferrier Hodgson's Malaysian office, told the court on January 22.

Heng was cross-examined by Mahmud's lawyer on April 14 and said his report was prepared without bias or external influence, The Star reported.