'Taib paid PR firm RM15 mil to clean up image'

Anti-Taib Mahmud website Sarawak Report, well-known for its stringent criticism of the Sarawak chief minister, has accused the BN strongman of paying RM15 million to a public relations company to put a gloss on his image overseas.

"Taib is paying a crooked, British-based PR company US$5 million (RM15 million) a year to conduct an illegal global media campaign against Sarawak Report," the portal alleged in an expose on its website.

The report said that FBC Media Ltd from the United Kingdom - "a TV production company which doubles as a 'strategic communications' firm" - has been helping politicians and corporations whitewash their image over the past decade.

"(The company has been) secretly selling slots across a number of supposedly impartial TV news programmes to promote its international clients, including Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Taib," claimed the portal further.

The practice it described, if proven true, is well against international broadcasting regulations.

Sarawak Report alleged that the practice which had deceive hundreds of millions of TV viewers, has netted the company tens of millions of dollars.

"It has also bought characters like Taib Mahmud positive publicity on prime international TV shows at the cost of their own taxpayers, whom they are also seeking to dupe and impress," stated the report further.

FBC works with Apco in US

The Sarawak Report expose also revealed that FBC Media is the same firm engaged by Najib himself.

This was according to Malaysian budget records which showed that between 2008-2009, RM57.7 million was paid by the Prime Minister's office to FBC Media to conduct a 'Global Strategic Communications Campaign' for the Malaysian government.

Another RM29.3 million was paid out in 2008 and RM28.4 million in 2009.

The matter had been brought to Parliament's attention by PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution last year.

Sarawak Report also claimed that FBC was instrumental in engaging lobbying firm Apco Worldwide to lobby in the United States for "raising awareness of the importance of policies in Malaysia that are pro-business and pro-investment, as well as reforms and anti-terrorist reforms in that country".
This was disclosed by official documents mandated by the US government for each foreign contract undertaken by lobbying firms in that country.

The document spelled out that US$70,000 was paid by FBC Media to Apco over the past two years to conduct a lobbying campaign in the United States, allegedly on behalf of the Malaysian government.

Severe blow to image

Taib's image took a severe blow in the West after allegations of corruption and illegal seizures of native land and other native rights abuses saw the light of day through sites like Sarawak Report and Free Sarawak Radio.

Both are co-founded by UK journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, who is sister-in-law to former British premier Gordon Brown.

The long-time CM has had a reputation of putting pressure on local Sarawak media to silence such negative reports from making to print.

This latest allegation indicated that Taib has implemented damage-control measures to defend himself against allegations of corruption and abuse of power.