Graft watchdog calls on Sarawak chief Taib Mahmud to resign
Sarawak head Taib Mahmud dismisses the NGO's viral video 'proof' of corrupt practices
Corruption watchdog Transparency International has called on the powerful head of a Malaysian state to step aside after a video purportedly linking him to abuse of power went viral online.
But the man at the centre of the allegations, Sarawak's state chief Taib Mahmud, dismissed the video as "naughty" and a possible attempt to smear him.
The clip produced by London-based NGO Global Witness allegedly depicts a "sting", in which a person posing as a foreign businessman is seen negotiating with cousins and associates of Taib. The video has received more than 200,000 views since it was posted on Tuesday and sparked a flood of online postings calling for Taib's arrest.
Taib, 76, has headed resource-rich Sarawak on Borneo island as chief minister since 1981 and has for years faced - and denied - allegations of large-scale corruption and nepotism.
"I saw the so-called proof. Could it not be someone trying to promote themselves to become an agent to get favours from me?" he said in comments that were also uploaded on YouTube.
"I think it is a bit naughty of them for using their big power to blacken my name."