KUALA LUMPUR - Uncertainty over the current whereabouts of Sarawak’s ailing former leader Taib Mahmud represents the latest twist in a feud between his blood relatives and current wife.

Internal conflict among the Taibs surfaced publicly in mid-2023.

Children of the then state governor sued their Syrian-born stepmother over a disputed transfer of 50 million shares in a family-controlled firm that has long been the beneficiary of various government projects in the eastern Malaysian state, dating back to when Tun Taib was chief minister from 1981 to 2014.

But the stocks worth about RM50 million (S$14 million) are just the tip of the iceberg in a battle for an estate that some believe makes Mr Taib the richest man in Malaysia.

On Feb 3, news – backed by police reports from his children, doctor and lawyer – circulated that Mr Taib, 87, had been taken from a hospital in Sarawak’s capital Kuching by his wife, Toh Puan Raghad Kurdi Taib, 44, against medical advice and without the knowledge of her stepchildren.

Developments in the week since have fuelled speculation over the exact whereabouts of the man whose governorship was cut short just shy of a decade on Jan 26, amid questions over his declining physical and mental well-being.

He was replaced by former minister Wan Junaidi Jaafar, who had earlier quit as president of the Dewan Negara, Malaysia’s upper legislative Chamber.

Malaysian police chief Razarudin Husain insisted on Feb 7 that it was “absurd” to claim Mr Taib had been kidnapped as he was undergoing treatment at his own residence.

But the same day, Mr Taib’s brother, Datuk Mohammad Tufail Mahmud, lodged a police report claiming “none of my siblings, nor any of my brother’s real children, knows of his current whereabouts and the current condition of his health”, and insisted the family holds Ms Raghad fully responsible.

They appeared to be vindicated on Feb 10 when Inspector-General of Police Razarudin gave an update that Mr Taib was in fact admitted to a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

He added that investigation papers on the case had been submitted to prosecutors for further action.

Photos going viral since the beginning of February of Ms Raghad overseeing a snaking row of suitcases and boxes have also sparked rumours of an attempt to flee the country, although the former first family of Sarawak could well have been moving house, given that they had to vacate the governor’s official residence.

This is not the first instance of Mr Taib’s movements being shrouded in mystery. A return from a medical trip to Turkey with Ms Raghad in the middle of 2023 was delayed for months until Sept 16. 

Well-placed sources told The Straits Times that the state government under Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg was deeply concerned over Mr Taib’s well-being and return, as the governor’s assent – although largely ceremonial – was required before the administration could proceed on important matters.

He has barely been seen in public in Sarawak in the past year, with concern about his health and mental state heightened by his absence at important state functions and the cancellation of all public events for his 87th birthday.

Ms Raghad was reportedly already a widow with her own children when she wed then Chief Minister Taib in 2010 – with the bride being less than half his age and younger than all of his own children. She has largely been his spokeswoman in recent years as his health deteriorated.

Watchdogs such as the Bruno Manser Fund – named after the rainforest and human rights campaigner who went missing in Sarawak in 2000 – have alleged as far back as 2012 that Mr Taib is worth US$15 billion (S$20.2 billion), and his wealth gained through logging, agriculture and construction businesses is hidden by nominating family or political proxies. 

The Taibs, estimated by some to share a family fortune breaching US$20 billion, have denied these claims and any abuses in the face of probes in Malaysia and abroad.

But their own affairs, which have spilled into the public domain, have revealed the extraordinary wealth they enjoy, not least Mr Taib’s penchant for Rolls-Royce cars, which he used during his 33-year stint as chief minister, the longest leadership of any Malaysian state.

As far back as 2011, Mr Taib’s eldest son Mahmud Bekir made headlines after his former wife Shahnaz Majid, sister of jazz queen Sheila Majid, demanded RM400 million in a divorce settlement. She was eventually awarded RM30 million.

The dispute over the 50 million shares in Cahya Mata Sarawak has also touched a nerve, as Mr Taib’s first wife had willed them to her children before she died in 2009. The family patriarch was holding the shares in trust before they were somehow transferred to Ms Raghad, leading to the 2023 lawsuit.

While no criminal guilt has ever been proven against any of the Taibs, financial services used by Sarawakian firms owned or controlled by the family were part of suspicious transactions between 2006 and 2009 that saw global banking giant HSBC pay billion-dollar fines to settle money laundering investigations.

A no-holds-barred contest pitting Mr Taib’s siblings and children from his first marriage against Ms Raghad could see new and damning details divulged in the course of legal proceedings.

This makes it a high-stakes battle not just for those making claims to the Taib fortune, but also for Sarawak’s political elite – the dominant Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu has held power in various incarnations since the first state polls six decades ago – who have had to repeatedly dodge accusations of abuses for decades.