Courts – Sabah Insights

It may be Malaysia’s strangest court case in which the living fight tooth and nail over a dead man’s honour. Only that victory is likely to be pyrrhic; whichever way it goes. Syed Kechik Syed Mohamed died a broken man at 81 in 2009, leaving an estate of 400m ringgit ($99m) and without exonerating himself of the wrongs Sabah accused him of. In a civil suit brought against him by the trustees of Sabah Foundation, a philanthropic trust, the Sabah high court in 1999 found him guilty of fraud and to have breached his fiduciary duty as the Foundation director. A book, “Vendetta and Abuse of Power”, which tries to clear his name, albeit posthumously, is now the subject of a libel suit brought by former chief minister Harris Salleh. But the three days of open court hearing which began on August 23 turned out to be a sparring match between Mr Harris and those he is suing for defamation. Continue reading “A likely pyrrhic victory, either way” →

Seven years after his death, Sabah’s most hated man has come to haunt

Syed Kechik Syed Mohamed (picture) was Sabah’s most hated man. So much so that the now defunct Parti Berjaya made his expulsion from Sabah as one of its election promises. It swept to power in 1976, ending Mustapha Harun’s nine years of iron-clad rule which was mostly blamed on Syed Kechik. He died in 2009 at the age of 81. He was Mustapha’s right hand man; but many saw him as Sabah’s de facto chief minister. The courts then forestalled his expulsion. But for three days starting tomorrow (Aug 22) the high court in Kota Kinabalu will hear a libel suit brought by former chief minister Harris Salleh over allegations in a book, “Vendetta and Abuse of Power”, that he had abused his power and was vindictive in seizing Syed Kechik’s properties.

Continue reading “The ghost of Syed Kechik” →