Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud today warned the people not to easily trust anyone who claim they are acting as agents for purchasing Sarawak land.

He said anybody can say or claim they are agents, but people should know that it is not necessarily true.

"People should be careful not to be drowned into this kind of lies, and believing it that they are my agents... some people can say that they are my agents, they can act as my agent but it doesn’t mean it is true.

"We have our own system here, so stick to the system," he speak to the reporter after officiates Kampung Lintang new multipurpose hall in Kuching today.

He said this when asked to comment on the posting of a video clip on YouTube by London-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Global Witness implicating him and his family in alleged shady land deals.

NONE The video clip, entitled "Inside Malaysia's Shadow State" which went viral, depicts Global Witness investigators posing as foreign investors recording snippets of their conversation with Taib's cousins, Norlia and Fatimah Abdul Rahman, and lawyers under the pretext of purchasing Sarawak land for hefty profit.

Norlia and Fatimah are daughters of former Sarawak chief minister Abdul Rahman Ya'kub, who is Taib's uncle.

Taib mulling legal action

As to whether he or the state government will be taking any action such as suing the NGO for making false claims, Taib said he was now looking into it.

taib mahmud responds to global witness report story "I will try to find out what is going on actually and what level of investigation should be done. But what can I say is that it is quite obvious now that they not really fighting for what they say, but they are trying to support the opposition especially during this coming election, nobody can deny that," he said.

Meanwhile, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Abang Johari Openg said the action by Global Witness was aimed at causing disunity among the people in Sarawak but was confident they would continue to give their solid backing to the state leadership under Taib.

"Some people are not happy that Sarawak and Malaysia in general are very successful. If before people within the country were used by foreigners to tarnish the image of the country, now the reverse is happening," he said.

- Bernama