Cahya Mata Sarawak is facing boardroom and court disputes involving two sons of the late Taib Mahmud, as the company prepares for its May 25 annual general meeting. [1]
Mahmud Abu Bekir, who sits on the board, has been frozen out of board meetings after asking for detailed financial accounts from several CMS subsidiaries, according to the report. He was demoted from deputy chairman to non-executive director on Apr. 7. [1]
His younger brother, Sulaiman Abdul Rahman, is CMS's managing director. The family feud comes after Taib Mahmud died in 2024, deepening a battle among his children and stepmother Raghad Kurdi Taib over the family estate. [1]
CMS has also been hurt by a recent downturn, with write-offs and loss-making ventures weighing on profitability. The company has about 3,000 workers and a market value of about RM1.2 billion. [1]
The Taib family controls about 24% of CMS, down from more than 60% in the 1990s. State-linked investment arms owned about one-third in 2020, but most holdings have since been cut back, with the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation now below 5%. [1]
The company is also weighing a RM1 billion phosphate plant project that the report said could pose a major risk. Four board members are due for re-election at the May 25 AGM. [1]
