BRIEF PARAGRAPH REGARDING LINGGI’S STATEMENT FOR TIMBER INDUSTRY REFORM

BRIEF PARAGRAPH REGARDING LINGGI’S STATEMENT FOR TIMBER INDUSTRY REFORM

In 1976, a 25 years timber license (T/0537) covering 49,996 hectares was issued to Keresa Timber Corporation S/B and on August 15th 1979, another larger timber concession under timber license (T/3024) for 25 years was issued to Rajang Wood S/B covering a virgin forest area of 309,575 hectares.

These two companies issued with a total of nearly 360,000 hectares are all owned and controlled by the famous well-endowed and politically connected Linggi family.

The Linggi family also owns Keresa Plantations Sdn Bhd which owns 8,551 hectares of oil palm plantation land in the Labang District some 66KM from Bintulu along the Bintulu-Bakun Road and another 5 oil palm plantations land of 24,622 hecatares situated within the Bintulu / Miri regions, owned by Asia Plantation S/B (APSB). APSB, until it was sold to FGV, was mostly owned by Linggi through Keresa Plantations Sdn Bhd and other means.

1. Keresa Timber Corporation S/B        49,996 ha

2. Rajang Wood S/B                 309,575 ha

3. Keresa Plantations S/B         8,551 ha

4. Asia Plantations S/B         24,622 ha

       Total                 392,744 ha 

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2014/08/30/fgv-buys-asian-plantations-this-has-strengthened-its-position-as-worlds-thirdlargest-plantation-oper

The Linggi family is not only famous but politically well endowed. The grandfather of YB Alex Linggi was none other than Tun Jugah, who was the paramount leader of the Dayak when Sarawak agree to form Malaysia in 1963.

In 1962, Tun Jugah founded a political party called Parti Pesaka Sarawak representing the Sarawak Bumiputra. But in 1973, Tun Rahman Yacoob convinced Tun Jugah to merge Pesaka with Parti Bumiputra in order to, amongst others, protect and guarantee the future rights of bumiputera and to develop the bumiputera, specifically, Malaysians, generally, in the educational, economic, social, and cultural spheres.

Another new party PBB. 

The formation was based on the structure that PBB has two divisions, one Pesaka and one Bumiputra. Of course cleverly, Bumiputra was and still the majority in this new entity.

In return for the Linggi family agreeing to merge Pesaka with Bumiputra, the Linggi family were given positions in PBB and of course large forest concession areas and sizeable oil palm agriculture land with ridiculously low payment of to the Sarawak Government. Keresa Plantations Sdn Bhd for example paid a mere RM44,640.00 for 8551 hectares of palm oil land.

https://www.sarawakreport.org/2013/05/dirty-dayak-datuks-bns-crony-candidates/

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/former-sarawak-minister-named-report-state%E2%80%99s-timber-corruption

The two timber licenses were not renewed because firstly Linggi did not contribute political funds to PBB in spite of high profit, estimated to be in excess of RM886.3 million; and secondly, both Rajang Wood and Keresa never carried out any value adding investment but instead just sit and collect high timber premiums.

When the two timber licenses were not renewed, Tan Sri Linggi Jugah turned against Tun Taib who was then the CM and President of PBB. Instead of supporting Adenan Satem, adopted by Tun Taib to be the deputy president of PBB in the election against Abang Jo, Tan Sri Linggi Juggah supported Abang Jo and gave full financial resources to Abang Jo during the party elections and Abang Jo won the deputy President post against Adenan  in spite of Adenan’s party status and seniority and also endorsed by Tun Taib to be his eventual successor as CM of Sarawak. The rest is history.

The relationship between Linggi family and Abang Jo was sealed and blossomed and Alex Linggi, the son of Tan Sri Linggi Juggah was awarded the position of Secretary General in PBB replacing Dr Rundi.

Not only that, Alex Linggi was offered the Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs in the backdoor MY Government.

Now, with YB Alex Linggi speaking on reviewing Sarawak’s timber policy and claiming that “certain people” who became very rich from it over the years are now unfriendly to the ruling GPS party, is he implying that these instead should be granted to “friendly” parties and only those who support the GPS? This could even be seen as a threat and in case he doesn’t know, this is corruption and cronyism at its very best. Also, funny that this should come from him too, whose family has benefited so much to be enriched by such policies he so very much suggests to be reviewed.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/10/03/time-to-review-who-gets-best-cut-of-sarawak-timber-pbb-sec-gen-tells-chief/1909237

So what happened to the large land given by the Sarawak Government for timber extraction and oil palm plantation to the Linggi family?

Among the various favours given by Abang Jo, just the sale of oil palm land of 24,622 hectares under Asia Plantation S/B to UMNO related Felda Global Ventures (FGV) for a whopping RM 1,016,000,000.00 (RM 1.016 Billion) shows how much YB Alex Linggi’s family pocketed.

BTW, the sale of Asia Plantation land to FGV is now a subject of investigation according to a  report by The Edge dated Apr 2015.

How did the Linggi family manage to sell the 24,622 hectare land to FGV with such a high, overpriced value is anybody’s guess and beyond our imagination.