S'wak CM's son's divorce dispute lands in court

The RM400 million matrimonial dispute between the Sarawak chief minister's son Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib and his former wife Shahnaz A Majid is heading for a syariah court hearing in Kuala Lumpur as attempts to reach a settlement have collapsed.

This was confirmed by one of Shahnaz's counsel, Rafie Mohd Shafie.

He told Malaysiakini on Friday that the Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court had fixed June 19 and 25 for the hearing of her mutaah (damages) claim as the parties had failed to reach a settlement within the stipulated date.

Shahnaz, is the elder sister of jazz queen Sheila Majid. Shahnaz and Mahmud Abu Bekir tied the knot on Jan 9, 1992 and have an 18-year-old son.

They were legally divorced on May 11, last year after 19 years of marriage when Mahmud Abu Bekir pronounced the talak (declaration of divorce). Shahnaz was also given custody of their son.

Shahnaz is seeking RM100 million in damages (mutaah) and another RM300 million claim in joint matrimonial assets following the divorce in which she cited irreconcilable differences and not having sex from Mahmud Abu Bekir since 2001.

Mahmud Abu Bekir, is the deputy group chairperson of Cahaya Mata Sarawak where Shahnaz had once worked.

The chief minister's son, had offered a settlement on March 13, and was allowed an initial two weeks to list out its details, which subsequently was extended.

However on April 24, it was reported that there was no settlement in sight as no offers were made despite the extensions.

Shahnaz gave a teary testimony when she took the stand, where she claimed she was physically and mentally abused by Mahmud Abu Bekir. She also claimed that her former husband had brought another woman to attend her sister-in-law's wedding.