Taib Mahmud’s son steps aside to allow probe into Sarawak company

Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, the son of former Sarawak chief minister Taib Mahmud, has taken voluntary leave of absence from his position as deputy group chairman of Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) to allow an investigation into allegations of conflict of interest involving him and the company’s former chief information officer, Karl Vink @ Khalid Abdullah.

CMS said in a statement yesterday that the allegations were received through the group’s whistleblower channel.

“Upon receipt of the whistleblower complaints, before reporting to the authorities, the board acted immediately to carry out a full investigation to discharge its fiduciary duties to protect the best interest of the company and all stakeholders,” it said.

“We request all stakeholders to allow the investigations to proceed and patiently await the final outcome. The board will cooperate fully with the authorities and has asked the management to also extend their fullest cooperation.”

Mahmud Abu Bekir was made group executive director of CMS in 1995 and was redesignated as deputy group chairman in 2002.

CMS in its statement assured stakeholders that the board adheres to the highest standards of corporate governance practise.

“Moving forward, the board will continue steering the group in full compliance with the law and continue to put stakeholders’ interests at the forefront.

“We thank Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib for graciously taking leave of absence from all his positions in the group, an exemplary conduct of good corporate governance.”