Marriage and other Sarawak Land Scandal!

Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, 74, who married a 28-year-old Syrian national a month ago, is expected to hold a wedding party on Saturday.

Taib, whose Polish-born wife Laila died of cancer in April 2009, had set tongues wagging when he held a closed-door wedding ceremony on Dec 18.

The akad nikah, held at his official residence in Jalan Demak in Kuching, was attended by 200 guests including family members, close relatives and friends.

According to Sarawak Report, a website which has exposed a string of alleged corruption cases involving the long-time chief minister and his family, Taib will formally announce his marriage on Jan 15.

"Indeed, Taib's failure so far to officially present and acknowledge his wife in the normal fashion has made it inevitable that people have been left speculating over the speed and secrecy of this event," said the website. Sarawak Report questioned the lengthy period of silence and the lack of official confirmation of the marriage.

"A wedding should be treated as a public celebration and not a secret scandal...," it said. According to Bernama, Taib today confirmed that a banquet will be held on Saturday to mark his marriage.

Taib, 74, who seemed to be in a jovial mood, appeared to be protective of his wife, Ragad Waleed Alkurdi (left).

"Leave her alone for some time because she is trying to adjust," he told journalists.

Asked if Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who will be on a working trip to Sarawak this weekend, would attend the banquet, Taib said: “I don't know. I've got to check. I just came back.”

The wedding bash is expected to be held at the Dewan Santapan of the old state legislative assembly complex in Petra Jaya.

Not much is known about the bride but she is believed to be a former flight attendant. Sarawak Report has posted a number of photos of the couple, who appeared at the wedding of Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu's daughter, Barbara Dubah.

I am not saying what Taib is doing is wrong but I can't help find similarities with him and Hugh Hefner (84)/Crystal Harris (24). Well there is one difference. At least Hugh Hefner is not shy about it!!

Another explosive scandal

Meanwhile, the website revealed yet another explosive scandal - this time allegedly involving newly-wed Barbara (right) and his brother, Gerald Rentap. The siblings, along with cousin Robert Lawson Chuat, jointly own a company called Herba Aromatics, which is said to have sold a recently acquired piece of land to federal agency Felcra for RM7 million. Sarawak Report alleged that Herba Aromatics has obtained the 2,000 ha plot for a song from Taib, who is also planning and resources minister. "This land was 'purchased' from the state in 2008 for an agreed price of just over RM1 million and is located in Lidong Road area, Betong," said the website.

It is alleged that the native owners of the land was paid a miserly RM500 per door (of the longhouse). Moreover, Herba Aromatics has yet to make all the necessary payments for the land over the past two years. "Did the chief minister perhaps tell Jabu's (left) children that they didn't need to find the money to pay the state of Sarawak until after they had sold it on to somebody else at a much higher market price? Would that sale perhaps have been to Felcra for RM7 million? "Sarawak Report demands that the Land Registry makes clear whether Jabu's children have yet paid all the money owing for this land, and if so when?"