A whistleblower website has published documents that it said showed Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s personal bomoh (shaman) owns millions of shares timber giant Samling Global.

taib mahmud bomoh shares in samling 030211 ahmad suut According to the Sarawak Report , the bomoh going by the name Ahmad Su'ut owns “ hundreds of millions ” of shares in the US$1.3 billion (RM3.95 billion) timber company, one of the largest suppliers of tropical plywood in the world.

While the company is majority-owned by the Yaw family, it alleged Samling Global's annual report for the year 2010 showed Su'ut had from at least 2007 owned 5.5 percent of the company through his company Tapah Plantations.  

taib mahmud bomoh shares in samling 030211 tapah plantations This amounts to 225,592,070 shares, which Sarawak Report said is valued at RM300 million.

Sarawak Report also claimed two other individuals owned shares in Samling: Hamad Sepawi, who the website said is the CM's cousin and who has been frequently favoured  with land concessions, numerous top jobs and contracts; and Wan Morshidi bdul Rahman, who is related to the previous chief minister Abdul Rahman Ya'kub

NONE Given Ahmad’s relatively modest lifestyle relative to his wealth as well as claims that many of Taib’s family members and close associates hold property and money in trust for the chief minister, the website said it believes the witch-doctor also serves as a proxy for Taib.

“For many years this bomoh acted as the well-known spiritual advisor and close confidant of the Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud. He performed regular black magic on his behalf and his brother in law is a very close friend indeed of Taib's sister Zaleha.  

“In return the chief minister has rewarded him with lands and concessions, as we exposed in our previous article.  

“So we think it is only fair to ask whether indeed the chief minister might also have entrusted this bomoh with the role of `front man' in the case of this share ownership?”