When billionaires fight like orang kampung: What has Tabung Haji got to do with Sarawak's great brotherly feud?

In the second instalment of my  Malaysia's billionaire family feuds, I paused at Sarawak's former first family's fight over CMS between the late Taib Mahmud's sons Mahmud Abu Bekir and his adinda Sulaiman Abdul Rahman, and the highly-anticipated showdown between the brothers, together or separately, with Toh Puan Rhagad the stepmother from Syria who gave Taib, the former Sarawak Chief Minister and later its Governor, probably the happiest last few years of his life.

Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib (right) and Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib

In this third part (and unlikely to be the last), we shall look a little deeper into what - and who else - makes this so-called Sarawak Shuffle.

"Same family, much bigger table." That was my final words from that last article. 

What's crazy about this particular feud, what sets it apart from the other squabbles, is that there are other people and parties sitting around this table and it's an awkward situation, yes, when the shareholders and investors of CMS include the Ministry of Finance, the Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd ( UJSB) and, well well well, Tabung Haji.

Tabung Haji has been in the news recently, locally and internationally, for the wrong reasons of course. A Royal Commission of Inquiry ordered by the Madani government three years ago was recently made public and the findings have not been something Malaysians are proud of, especially if we are Muslims and painfully so if we are Malaysian Muslims who have been saving with TH to fulfill the religions 5th and last pillar, ie to perform the Haj in Makkah.

If the brotherly fight for control of CMS spills over, would we discover another bad investment and poor judgment on the part of TH's past management in putting our money in the Sarawak entity?

The other thing about CMS is that Mahmud is not just a pretty face wanting a share of a huge inheritance. The older Taib sibling is actually a substantial shareholder in the company whose complaint of having been locked out of his boardroom is largely perceived as a legit one.

Mahmud has been barred - by his own little brother Sulaiman - from having access to the company's accounts and records, which those in the know about CMS say could unravel more drama in Malaysia's corporate history and a mouth-watering money trail mystery that may call for its own RCI!

The battle has shifted from boardroom to court room, where even more players - witnesses, lawyers and the presiding judge(s) - will come into play. Given the stakes involved, I have a feeling I may be featuring some of these witnesses,  lawyers and judge(s) in future articles on the feud.