KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 8 — Noted journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown agreed that the new federal government has a moral obligation to investigate corruption issues behind former Sarawak Chief Minister Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud as quickly and efficiently as possible.
She said it also is up to Sarawak’s electorate to decide if it will continue to support a state government system that has remained largely unchanged since Taib stepped down from the post in 2014.
“Frankly, I think it is very, very difficult for a highly corrupted regime to reform itself. But it will be interesting to see if gestures or attempts are made in that direction,” Rewcastle-Brown told reporters following the launch and signing of her book The Sarawak Report on the investigations into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
She said that were it to occur, it is likely many people will be sacked as a result.
“But really in the end, that is for the people of Sarawak to decide at the ballot box,” Rewcastle-Brown said.
She also agreed when asked if the reason why Taib, who became Chief Minister in 1981, could rule so long was because of the backing and support from the federal government under the previous administrations.
“I will continue to campaign for proper management of Sarawak’s forests, as for many years myself and others have questioned the financial arrangements behind so many of the state’s biggest companies.
“This includes things like handing out of contracts and concessions. I’ll also continue to work on revealing concerns and malpractices which resulted in Sarawak’s natural wealth going to a very small number instead of to improve the lives of the majority of Sarawakians,” Rewcastle-Brown said.
