A Swiss NGO dedicated to saving the rainforest in Malaysia has caused the shares of an infrastructure company to plunge with its offer to provide information about allegedly corrupt practices of the Taib family.
After the shock election victory of Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia, the previously ruling elite is facing renewed allegations about corrupt practices. The first and foremost among those are linked to the 1MDB state fund which is said to have been plundered by people including ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Mohamad has promised to investigate the allegations with his new government and stopped Razak from leaving the country. Malaysia has also vowed to work more closely with the U.S. authorities which have been hard on the heels of the group that syphoned off the 1MDB funds.
Time's Up
Now, the new broom has reached further and caused the shares of a major infrastructure company to plunge. Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) is closely linked to the family of Taib Mahmud, the governor of Sarawak. Swiss non-governmental organization Bruno Manser Fund claims that the Taib family fraudulently acquired the majority in CMS in the 1990s. CMS is a former state-owned corporation.
After Mohamad’s promise last week to investigate the claims, if he received proof for corrupt practices, the NGO published a statement and said that it was willing to present the findings of its investigation.
Temporarily Suspended
After the promise of the government and the statement by the fund, the shares of CMS plunged, Bruno Manser Fund said in a statement on Tuesday. The stock market in Kuala Lumpur temporarily suspended the shares of CMS on Friday after they had shed 30 percent of their value. They have lost about 50 percent since voters ousted the former government.
