Swiss-based Bruno Manser Fund has called on Sarawak Energy's Norwegian chief executive officer Torstein Dale Sjøtveit to step down for failing to help stem corruption in the controversial state-owned company.

NONEThe NGO released an 18-page report today claiming that Sarawak Energy, under Sjøtveit's tenure, had granted contracts worth RM680 million to three companies closely linked to Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

The report says Sarawak Energy in 2009 hired Sjøtveit (right) to replace Taib's brother-in-law Abdul Aziz Hussain, in a bid to polish up the company's image as it implemented the multi-billion ringgit Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score).

"Sjøtveit and his team of foreign experts have been working on a new green and social image for Sarawak Energy.

"They have also thought up new statements on their vision and mission, and Sarawak Energy's 'values' such as accountability and respect now occupy a prominent place," the report says.

However, BMF said the appointment of Sjøtveit had not seen genuine improvements as Sarawak Energy continued to award contracts to Taib-linked companies, with the indigenous population affected by the construction of large number of dams involved in Score remains the same.

Among the contracts given out and investments by Sarawak Energy which allegedly benefited Taib-linked companies as detailed out in the report are:

Sarawak Cable Bhd

  • NONEIn 2010, three contracts worth RM237 million were granted to Sarawak Cable, in which largest shareholder is Taib's son Mahmud Abu Bekir; and
  • A majority shareholding in Sarawak Energy's subsidiary, Sarwaja Timur, was sold to Sarawak Cable, together with three more contracts. Two are worth RM13 million and the value of the third is not known.

"There is a direct conflict of interest if a public company invests so heavily in a private company run by the chief minister's son," the report notes, pointing out that Sarawak Energy also has a 21.6 percent stake in the Bekir's company.

Naim Holdings Bhd

  • In 2009, Naim Holdings Bhd's subsidiary, Naim Land, was granted a RM209 million contract for a 275 kilovolt overhead transmission line project from Bakun Dam to Similajau; and
  • In 2012 Naim Engineering, another subsidiary, was granted two contracts worth RM197 million for construction and the resettlement of the Penan community displaced by the Murum Dam.
The report notes that Naim Holdings Bhd chairperson and largest shareholder is Taib's cousin Hamed Sepawi, who also happens to be Sarawak Energy chairperson, thus creating a direct conflict of interest.

Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS)
  • In 2009, a RM232 million contract was granted to Taib's family-owned CMS to construct Sarawak Energy's headquarters in Kuching; and
  • In 2012, CMS' subsidiary PPES Works was granted a RM23 million contract to construct a resettlement site for communities displaced by the Murum Dam.

azlanFurthermore, the report said, despite Sjøtveit's commitment to allow the indigenous population affected by the dams to have a greater say in their resettlement, those affected in Murum and Baram were not properly consulted, leading them to protest.

BMF described Score as an immense industrialisation programme with planned investment of up to US$105 billion. It will see new dams and coal-fired plants to feed energy intensive industries, such as aluminium smelters.

The project, said to be the most capital intensive and ambitious energy project ever undertaken in Southeast Asia, also includes the largest infrastructure development plan, with intensified tropical hardwood logging and large-scale expansion of oil palm plantations.

In another statement, BMF pointed out the stocks of these companies have rallied strongly after the 13th general election revealed that BN will maintain its hold on power.

"Within two weeks, the shares of CMS, which is controlled by Taib's family, gained 46 percent in value. Naim Holdings Bhd, another company closely associated with the chief minister, gained 27.7 percent," it said.

However, it added that Taib's businesses will be under international spotlight next week during the International Hydropower Association's World Congress in Kuching on May 21-24.