After decades of stripping Sarawak of its vast tropical forests the chief criminal, Taib Mahmud, appears to be looking for an exit strategy.

A much publicised initiative appearing to aim at re-foresting Sarawak was launched by his acolytes with himself carefully avoiding any apparent involvement. Huge, non-existent, areas of virgin forest are to be set aside as part of the State’s heritage and nothing is to be said about the fact that nine-tenths or more of that heritage have already been sold off outside the State by a gang of Chinese timber tycoons permitted to do so by Taib in return for his personal cut.

What is more interesting is what do these crooks expect or hope to get out of this wayang kulit? Do they seriously expect anyone, inside Sarawak or out, to believe a word they say? After decades of theft and lying? Presumably they are so mired in crime and deception that they think everyone else thinks the same way?

WRONG. Forty years of crime cannot be expunged by a clumsy bogus initiative that no one will give any credit to. Those who should be most worried are the smaller fish. The officials and minor politicians who have done most of the dirty work while their mega crook master took the profits. Possibly the MACC will start with them but only because that will be the quickest route to getting the evidence that will put all the mega crooks, from Taib down, where they belong. In jail