PETALING JAYA, July 6 — Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud is risking the country’s reputation with his personal vendetta against anti-graft fighter Clare Rewcastle Brown, the DAP’s Lim Guan Eng said today after the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was denied entry into the state.

The DAP secretary-general accused Taib of abusing his position and demanded he explain his reason for barring the British activist from Sarawak.

“Taib must understand that his actions, born out of personal vendetta against Rewcastle, will not only put Sarawak but also Malaysia in bad light.

“If Taib has nothing to hide, then he should come clean and answer the evidence systematically put up by Rewcastle of the natural resources in a beautiful state that is repeatedly ‘robbed’ by the cronies of Taib Mahmud,” Lim (picture), who is also a lawmaker, said in a statement.

Sarawak-born Rewcastle Brown, who has been on a crusade against the state chief minister and his empire allegedly built on denuding the rainforests blanketing Malaysia’s largest state, had been denied entry by immigration officials after landing at the Kuching International Airport on July 3.

The founder of the controversial whistleblower site Sarawak Report and independent Radio Free Sarawak was later handed a notice signed by the Immigration Department indicating that she was denied entry under section 65(1) of the Immigration Act.

In a video recording uploaded by Sarawak PKR vice-chairman See Chee How later, Rewcastle Brown said she had arrived in Sarawak to consult her lawyers on her defence in a defamation suit that was brought against her by a “senior personality in Sarawak” and a “so-called Tan Sri” in the state.

“I wish, of course, to defend myself and to stand up to the accusations that have been made against me and to meet with lawyers here.

“I came to attempt defend myself in a court case brought against me by a transnational corporation that is on the British and European stock exchanges... I am also, in the same case, being sued by a senior personality in Sarawak and a senior politician, a political family and a so-called Tan Sri,” she said in the video recording.

The powerful Taib, who is now into his 32nd year as chief minister in the resource-rich Sarawak, is currently in the centre of a massive corruption probe by anti-graft officers.

The 77-year-old was linked to more corruption allegations earlier this year by London-based environmental group Global Witness which had videoed its covert investigation on the state’s multibillion ringgit timber scandals.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was reported as announcing last week that it has set up a multi-agency task force to investigate the graft allegations against Taib.

The task force consists of representatives from agencies such as the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the MACC itself to “speed up” the investigations, The Star reported.

Once the investigations are completed, the MACC said a report will be submitted to Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail for action.

The MACC was also reported to have said that once investigations are completed and the deputy public prosecutor has made a decision, an operations evaluation panel will appraise the integrity and impartiality of the commission in handling the probe.