TAIB MAHMUD : This man is being highly treasured & protected by PM NAJIB RAZAK & BN regime, putting him above all laws in M'sia. |
By Joseph Tawie
Little known former state forestry director Len
Talif Salleh, who holds many of Taib Mahmud's deepest secrets, is now a serious
contender for the Sarawak's chief minister's post.
KUCHING: Many believe that the
leading contenders to succeed ageing Chief MInister Taib Mahmud are his Pesaka
Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) party information chief, Adenan Satem, senior
vice-president Awang Tengah Ali Hassan and its deputy president Abang Johari
Tun Openg. But others, however, think that the trio are only for show.
According
to these soothsayers, when the time comes – in two or three years – for Taib to
step down, it will be Len Talif Salleh who will step into his shoes.
They said
although it was obvious that Taib is grooming Adenan, 68, by giving him
important portfolios in the new state cabinet, it was now increasingly likely
that Len Talif, who is from within Taib’s family circle, may now join the list
of contenders.
Len Talif
retired in March to contest in the April 16 state election.
Following
his success, Len Talif was appointed as assistant tourism minister, assistant
minister in the chief minister’s office, and assistant resource planning and
environment minister.
He is not
only a Melanau, but also a close relative of Taib.
As a civil
servant, Len Talif was well-known and most feared in the civil service as he
was not only appointed to several key posts, but also held many of Taib’s
secrets.
But
politically not many even in Sarawak know who Len Talif was until and when he
delivered his maiden speech at the recent sitting of the State Legislative
Assembly.
Elected on a Barisan Nasional-PBB ticket in Belawai, Len
Talif’s aggressive style in delivering his speech caught the attention of his
fellow BN state representatives as well as the opposition leader Wong Ho Leng
and his band of 14 other opposition-elected representatives.
Newcomer to politics
Newcomer to politics
From the
onset, Len Taliff, a newcomer to politics, had caught the eye of the opposition
because of his style.
He clashed
with the opposition members during the maiden speech.
“You shut
up. This is my floor,” he said to an opposition member who wished to seek
clarification when he (Len Talif) accused DAP of being racists.
Despite
constant reminders by the Speaker, Asfia Awang Nassar, to Len Taliff to
discontinue his speech as the time given to him had been used up, the latter
continued his tirade against the opposition.
The Speaker
could do nothing.
Had he been
one of the opposition speakers, his microphone would have been switched off.
That is the kind of character Len Talif is.
Saving Adenan
In another
instance, Len Talif showed his potential when Adenan, Minster with Special
Functions, could not answer a question from the opposition regarding timber
certification from the European Union (EU) which sought to ban timber from
Sarawak if it did not comply with conditions imposed in the certification.
Len Talif
stood up and told the assembly that the EU was not a body that issued the
timber certification.
His instant
answer saved Adenan. This prompted Adenan to say that he would recommend to
Taib to have him appointed as assistant minister.
Of course,
Len Talif knows about the certification. After all, he was the former director
of forests.
Besides
holding the post of director of forests, Len Talif had been in charge of
several important government departments and agencies.
Among the
positions he held simultaneously were chief executive officer of Sarawak
Forests Corporation, (SFC), the general manager of Sarawak Timber Industry
Development Corporation (STIDC), the deputy permanent secretary to the planning
and resource management ministry and chairman of Tanjung Manis Integrated Port.
He was also
given four other special tasks.
All these
departments, corporations and ministry are extremely important because these
agencies are the ones that are involved in multi-billion ringgit worth of
projects, resources such as land and forest products including timber.
Right connections
Described
as a man with “super human ability” by his peers, Len Talif joined the Forestry
Department soon after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in forestry in
1979.
His right
connections saw him rise rapidly in the department, sometimes overtaking some
of the senior officers.
Usually
civil servants would not challenge a minister.
But this is
not the case with Len Talif. He has challenged and rebuked Ministers.
In one
instant, he ticked off State Land Development Minister James Masing for his
remarks on the logjam along the Rajang River last year.
Masing had
blamed excessive logging and timber operations in Ulu Baleh for the logjam.
Timber,
logs, timber parts and other debris that had accumulated over the years were
pushed into the rivers by heavy rains causing massive logjam from the the
Rajang River tributaries.
Tonnes of
fish and marine life perished, while thousands of residents along the rivers
were cut off from river communications.
But Len
Talif chided the minister for his remarks. He blamed the change of weather as
the culprit for causing the logjam.
He said it
had nothing to do with logging and timber operations in those areas.
Of course,
everyone knew that the excessive timber operations were the cause, but Len
Talif dared to lie and challenge the minister, because he has the support of
the chief minister.
Masing from there on has held his tongue.
Taib’s support
Taib’s support
Another
character of Len Talif worth noting is that just before he retired as director
of forests, he was alleged to have approved several timber licences in water
catchment and native customary right (NCR) land areas.
Many of
these licences are questionable, as legal suits are being filed by NCR
landowners to challenge the issuance of licences in those areas.
The
question of issuing timber licences before the state election was raised by a
Sarawak PKR assemblyman See Chee How in the recent state assembly sitting.
But the
Speaker disallowed any discussion on the issue.
But the
questions that have been nagging the minds of the people are: why did Taib
bring him to politics? Why did Taib make him an assistant minister holding
important portfolios other than to train him to take over the leadership?
Could he be
the man who will succeed Taib?
Source : FMT
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