Afternoon:
15°c
In a flat above a restaurant in Covent Garden, an investigative reporter called Clare and a tribesman from Borneo covered in tattoos prepare to transmit their daily revolutionary radio broadcast deep into the Borneo jungle.
They make for an unlikely double act - she is a white, middle-aged Englishwoman, and he the proud grandson of a Dayak headhunter who broadcasts under the pseudonym Papa Orang Utan. Their aim is no less outlandish: to expose the alleged corruption of Taib Mahmud, chief minister of the Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo 6,500 miles from London, and bring an end to his 30-year rule.
"This is Radio Free Sarawak," begins Papa Orang Utan, donning his headphones to interview a village headman who has been forcibly removed from his land and who, quite remarkably, speaks to them on a mobile phone from the edge of the Borneo rainforest. Clare briefs Papa: "Make sure you ask if he knows that it's chief minister Taib who has stolen their land? And get who he'll be voting for!"
Until now the identity of the "pirates" behind Radio Free Sarawak has been a closely guarded secret - and for good reason. Scandal-plagued Taib, 74, is one of the world's most ruthless and wealthiest men - richer allegedly than the Sultan of Brunei, whose independent country lies alongside - and locals who oppose him can feel the full force of his retribution.
But today is a watershed: the duo have bravely decided to out themselves ahead of the upcoming Sarawak elections, expected in April. Indeed, the Evening Standard can reveal that the mystery Englishwoman who set up Radio Free Sarawak four months ago and who brought out the tattooed tribesman - real name Peter John Jaban - to front her broadcasts is in fact Clare Rewcastle Brown, sister-in-law of former prime minister Gordon Brown.
The last time she was in the public eye was in May 2009 when she published a letter defending the then prime minister's cleaning arrangements in the wake of the expenses scandal. Her piece, "The true story of Gordon Brown, the cleaner and my husband", laid out their "very ordinary shared cleaning arrangements" and explained why The Telegraph's front page "scoop" was groundless.
"My poor husband Andrew," she recalls, "was the face on the front page on the first day of the expenses scandal, which was pretty damn unfair given that Gordon's arrangement with the cleaner was later judged wholly legitimate. The reporters arrived on our doorstep thinking they'd 'got Gordon' but they hadn't done their due diligence and when we presented them with the truth, they didn't want to hear it."
Today she sees less of her husband's older brother, "Gordon and Sarah being mainly up in Scotland", but they are "a close-knit family" and "Gordon is hugely supportive," she says.
Rewcastle Brown, 51, born in Sarawak to British parents in the days before the former British colony was handed over to Malaysia, lived in the region until the age of eight, and she is the author of the hard-hitting Sarawak Report, a hitherto anonymous blog that gets 18,000 hits a day.
"English is still the unifying language in Sarawak and I use my blog and broadcasts to expose the outrageous deforestation which has seen 95 per cent of Sarawak's rainforest cut down and replaced by logging and palm oil plantations which have enriched Taib and his family," she says. "What's more, my investigations indicate some of the Taib family money is right here in London and includes a lucrative property portfolio in the heart of our capital."
Her work, she adds, is also about "giving the 2.5 million oppressed people of Sarawak a choice".
"The leader of the opposition party, a charismatic human rights lawyer called Baru Bian, inspires hope of real change in the upcoming election, but scandalously only one-third of the electorate are registered to vote and the corrupt Malaysian government turn a blind eye because Taib always delivers them Sarawak, their richest state."
She says their decision to go public was prompted by death threats posted to the Sarawak Report website and by the mysterious fatality of her chief whistleblower in America. "Before Christmas, Taib's disaffected US aide Ross Boyert was found dead in a Los Angeles hotel room with a plastic bag around his head. The inquest is still pending but there was a sense that Peter and I could be in danger. Rather than hide, we've decided to come out fighting."
She kicks off her leather boots and laughs. "The irony is that Taib and his people think we're a huge operation but there are just five of us with a couple of laptops and a mixer. Advances in MP3 technology mean that these days shortwave radio is cheap and easy to do. We've been so effective that Taib's people believe we're funded by George Soros, whose foundation funds Radio Free Burma."
Her outfit - started in October from the dining room of her loft in Victoria where she lives "in shabby dilapidation" with Andrew and their two teenage children - costs less than £10,000 a month, she says. Initially she funded it herself but she's since roped in some "better-off friends" who help out "anonymously". "Not Gordon," she hastens to add. "His support is strictly moral!"
Her passionate dedication to a cause 99 per cent of Londoners have never heard of sometimes causes strains, she admits, with friends and family. "But I honestly believe that Taib is probably one of the worst environmental criminals on the planet and that he has taken huge amounts from the country of my birth."
She smiles. "He never saw me coming. When he set up his property companies in 1982, he could never have imagined that some mad woman sitting in her kitchen in London would unravel his property empire simply by scrutinising company reports online."
As an investigative journalist who started with the BBC World Service in 1983, she is better equipped than most to uncover the wealth of the Mahmud family.
"My investigations have indicated that Taib and his family have a property empire in Canada, the US and the UK. Funds have been generated by Taib selling off rainforests with some of the money going through the British Virgin Islands."
The Evening Standard put these allegations to those who are behind the companies and they were denied.
Rewcastle Brown's passion for the rainforests of Sarawak was kindled as a child when she accompanied her mother, Karis, a midwife, into the jungle. Back then, Sarawak had the most biodiverse rainforest in the world with 3,000 species of trees, 15,000 plants, 420 birds and 221 mammals.
"My mother would drag me to remote clinics to show the indigenous Dayaks what a healthy baby should look like," she recalls.
"Everyone in those villages sleeps in one long-house and my mother frequently saved the lives of their sick babies. As a kid, my first friends were the local children and we used to climb trees and run barefoot, dodging the odd scorpion."
The family came to the UK when Rewcastle Brown was eight and she attended a private boarding school and later finished her masters in international relations at the LSE. It would be 38 years before she returned to Sarawak on a media trip where the degradation of the rainforest - so evident from the air - shocked her to the core.
In 2008 she went back to report on a by-election and secretly film companies clearing rainforest for oil palm. That was when she "fell into a peat bog and nearly died", and it was also when she met Jaban, 46, an election monitor fired from Taib's state-controlled radio for allowing callers to criticise the chief minister.
Last year she invited Jaban to become the voice of Radio Free Sarawak in London. It was a drastic step because it meant that while Taib stays in power, Jaban can never go back.
"I miss my four children, I miss my home," he says, tears streaming. He looks vulnerable, like a fish out of water, but he suddenly straightens. "I am prepared to die for this cause," he says. "In the days of my grandfather, you had to bring a decent clutch of heads as a sign of your masculinity when you got married. Today things have changed but you still have to be a man."
What are their chances of success? Rewcastle Brown ponders for a moment. "People say our man hasn't got a prayer in the election and that Taib will intimidate voters as he always does but I think our reports are having a huge effect and that there's a groundswell for change."
She smiles thinly. "You've got to take heart from what is happening in the Middle East to rulers who seemed equally immovable until just a few weeks ago."
Reader views (31)
(Karenf - Couldn't agree with you more) Through this, Clare has demonstrated that she certainly has the Brown trait. Her brother Gordon used Tony to become the PM and now she is using Sarawak & Taib Mahmud to become famous. If Sarawakians want to change the leadership of Sarawak, election is just around the corner - use your rights, go to the booth and make the change. If Taib Mahmud is as corrupt as people said he is, present the evidences and let the laws of the land run their courses. Truth will prevail, unless there is no truth to begin with. Afterall, McCurry has won over McDonald in court battle in Malaysia.
- MansorH, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 03/03/2011 22:55
Report abuse
I am not looking for glory, but look out for me later 'cause I'll be the one with the finger pointing at you saying, 'Told you so!' with a t-shirt saying Perplexed. There is no ground in trying to convince you. I have said all the pieces I can say by way of solidarity, even though they may come across as harsh to you. For that, I do apologize. If you still prefer to regard me as an enemy, then so be it.
I have no interest in changing that scope of yours. In the end, I do wish you all the best.
Having said all that, I think I have done all I can.
And yes...I am not earning a penny for any of these comments I have made and they are entirely of my own prompting.
Until you wake from whatever you think you have woken up from...shalom...
- Still Perplexed, Sarawak, Malaysia., 25/02/2011 20:04
Report abuse
Perplexed, so perplexed you are. Childish maybe, but definitely a sore looser.
I thought you would have stopped talking but you never cease to let me down.
I don't see ANYONE agreeing with you. Heck, you're not Sarawakian at all. Probably fell of the wrong boat, discarded and swept out the door like nobody cares.
In the end it's Clare and John's work that make the headlines; not your worthless bickering. Hear ye hear ye! If I may be the parrot you say I am, here's one for your Repeat button "Perplexed comments = Worthless Bickering = Yawn = sigh".
I hope one day you do get to be 'famous' since obviously you're hungry for it. An 'A' for the effort!
BTW here's the part when you'd start your, "WORTHLESS BICKERING". That would make you a COMPULSIVE and REPULSIVE 'commenter'.
Hat's off to you. Chao.
- TaibsBountyHunter, Sarawak, Borneo, 25/02/2011 13:53
Report abuse
Dear TaibsBountyHunter,
Were you born a parrot, or someone turned you into one?
- Perplexed, Sarawak, Malaysia., 25/02/2011 10:33
Report abuse
Dear User,
One or two interviews. Obviously, it doesn't take much for you.
How many people have been named and how many interview requests have been made? It doesn't matter if these people grant it or not. The question is journalistic integrity...you always say that government newspapers are biased and regularly trash it based on the same notion. Why not apply this to yourselves in every instance.
Well, it's a little late now as the articles have been published and I don't think Clare will have another opportunity to request for one past that point. If one is gunning for unbiased truths, this is exactly what one needs to endeavor. It won't make much difference if one carries pre-concieved notions or have another agenda altogether.
- Still Perplexed, Sarawak, Malaysia., 25/02/2011 09:56
Report abuse
Clare and John, sorry for the mess here. Just couldn't let some sorry A$$ get away with pathetic comments without consequences. Let's just move on. Carry on with your good work; the dogs will eventually have to lick their wounds.
Perplexed2 and still Perplexed:
The pot calling the kettle black.
I guess you're of the 'elite' of society; so sad that you can't adapt to the lingo of the masses. It's so easy. Perhaps being like you as it seems, I could tailor a 101 lesson specially for you.
Mr Potty calling the kettle black again, maybe you should just 'poof-off' since you're obviously on this page AS OFTEN as I apparently am. Whoopsie!
Thought for you - go analyse yourself for a bit. You need it. ~end~ *Ka-Ching x3!
p/s: go google up Ka-Ching for your better understanding Perplexed Professor
- TaibsBountyHunter, Sarawak, Borneo, 25/02/2011 08:15
Report abuse
'...I mean unless you're Anderson Cooper or someone near that stature, your statement holds no weight!'
By that same logic, and assuming that you are not one (otherwise you won't be on this page much, nor will you be using the type of language that you do now)...how is it that you deign to see it fit to pass comments concerning a sitting head of government? Certainly not Clare and neither is Peter.
And if you and your likes abide by your own sense of logic, and apply these rules to yourselves...well, this conversation would not take place.
- Still Perplexed, Sarawak, Malaysia., 25/02/2011 01:30
Report abuse
Just for your information, Perplexed/perplexed 2, Radio Free Sarawak had interviewed Abdul Karim Hamzah, the chief political secretary of Abdul Taib Mahmud and James Jemut Masing, the Sarawak's land development minister.
Is this what you want? Perplexed/perplexed 2? If Taib Mahmud, Jabu, George Chan wanted to keep silent on this matter, how Radio Free Sarawak is going to lure them out for interviews?
Then why are you saying that Clare/John Jaban do not attempt to interview their targeted people?
- User, Sibu, Sarawak, 25/02/2011 00:26
Report abuse
'Then you go on to give your maestro 2 cents to discredit Clare as a journalist etc. I mean unless you're Anderson Cooper or someone near that stature, your statement holds no weight! Even a professional journalist would refrain from putting a fellow colleague down that way; "journalism 101", as you so cockily say it. (BTW, please look Anderson Cooper up in google. I fear you might not know who he is.)'
By your own logic, why should you deign it fit to pass comments against a sitting head of government if you yourself are not of the same stature? Certainly, neither are Clare nor Peter.
- Perplexed 2, Sarawak, Malaysia., 24/02/2011 17:44
Report abuse
I see panache aplenty, though your points fail me.
- Perplexed 2, Sarawak, Malaysia., 24/02/2011 17:38
Report abuse
Perplexed2: I can't help but wonder if you're even that smart to begin with. I'm just sad that Sarawakians have to read your comments that just choose to dwell on the fact that you're being victimised/bullied by in your words, "people in Clare's camp".
You try in vain to divert attention away from your mediocre statements that are not worth even a penny.
Why flood the comments with 3 of the same comments lamenting that you got 'censored'?! Hello... like who needs to know? What little does it have to do with the article?
Then you go on to give your maestro 2 cents to discredit Clare as a journalist etc. I mean unless you're Anderson Cooper or someone near that stature, your statement holds no weight! Even a professional journalist would refrain from putting a fellow colleague down that way; "journalism 101", as you so cockily say it. (BTW, please look Anderson Cooper up in google. I fear you might not know who he is.)
If ever there is a person who gobbles up everything without processing, I fear it might be your good self, Perplexed2. Now run along doggy; go lick your wounds. *Ka-Ching! 
- TaibsBountyHunter, Sarawak, Borneo, 24/02/2011 14:11
Report abuse
Dear TaibBountyHunter,
Your comment, 'One last point: Your comment about Clare not interviewing the persons involved - Either you're plain silly or an idiot under the coconut shell. What in the world is she supposed to gain from a direct interview with say, Taib?! Duh~ Who in the right mind would openly comment about the truth? It would be an absolute miracle if she could actually get him to agree to an interview for one.'
Shows that you're the type to simply gobble up whatever things that sit right with you without you trying to process it critically.
You are obviously not stupid, but choose to believe in things that make you do stupid things.
In the end, all you can say is that I am a backbencher and call me names.
Dear Sarawakian,
No wonder you are one angry person. You and your likes just focus tightly on viewing things extremely negatively and then anger yourself unnecessarily in the process. You want to blame Taib for all your misfortune. How convenient. If Taib goes, you'll probably still remain angry and dissatisfied because nothing about what's within you has changed...and therein lies the real root of your anger.
Thank people like Clare and Peter to egg on this nasty habit. It's ok for them because when the poop hits the fan, they'll just sit comfortable at their Covent Garden flat and enjoy Lion King at the Lyceum, while we have to deal with the pile of droppings they left behind.
Think a little harder beyond your tiny worldview
- Perplexed 2, Sarawak, Malaysia., 24/02/2011 09:45
Report abuse
Preplexed or Perplexed2, or however confused you are (BTW, the nickname sure fits your intellect):
Backbenchers so often pass off negative remarks and bark at every little thing; logical or not, they just bark like desperate dogs trying to get attention from the masses. UNFORTUNATELY they are not, they remain forever as the people behind.
A majority of them are just cowards and are insecure about themselves. Rather than be front liners and actually GETTING THEIR HANDS DIRTY, they are reduced to a pathetic group. Cowards! That's how Perplexed is behaving.
Sarawakian or not, it does not matter cause it's people like you that keep the corrupt in power. Likened to being their dogs.
One last point: Your comment about Clare not interviewing the persons involved - Either you're plain silly or an idiot under the coconut shell. What in the world is she supposed to gain from a direct interview with say, Taib?! Duh~ Who in the right mind would openly comment about the truth? It would be an absolute miracle if she could actually get him to agree to an interview for one.
OMG! You're so super naive and dumb!
- TaibsBountyHunter, Sarawak, Borneo, 24/02/2011 07:10
Report abuse
Perplexed, stop pretending to be perplexed, you're fooling no one but yourself.
Anyone with the slightest interest in Malaysia would know about the countless atrocities committed here on a daily basis. As despicable as all the crimes are committed by the corrupt powers in other states, Sarawak is surely having more than its fair share. Clare and Peter risk their lives for the weak and oppressed under a tyrannical regime, and we need more heroes like them.
Enjoy all your paychecks from Taib while you can, you won't be able to bring them with you to hell.
- Sarawakian, Sibu, Malaysia, 24/02/2011 06:01
Report abuse
Dear Sarawakian,
To me the equation is simple. How can someone who claim to have graduated from LSE and having spent some years as a journalist forget to even attempt to interview most of the people that she has been heavily critical of and I must say wronged. Isn't that journalism 101? Don't cite me safety reasons. They don't apply to heroes, which apparently what this duo are.
If one is interested in solving the problems of the natives, she should tell it like it is. But evidently, as she is more interested in spreading populist rumors and package them as fact (it's funny how the oft-abused '5% left of the rainforest' is regarded as one of the "facts", which form probably 2% of the Sarawak Report site), we can easily conclude that she's in it more for her personal self-glorification than actually helping people. Don't be lemmings and follow her down the cliff, 'cause I'd bet that she for one would have secretly brought a parachute along. Maybe she'd be nice enough to bring one for Peter John too. Maybe not, 'cause rumours are that he can fly.
We'd have to ask Clare about that as she is evidently the rumour queen du jour.
- Perplexed, Sarawak, Malaysia., 24/02/2011 02:41
Report abuse
I was calling Clare and her 'team' libelous and sensational and I got censured (and censored by the Evening Standard itself). So, I am thinking that this is no better than what she herself would call a regulated media...only this time it's controlled by people who are in her camp. Looks like this is nothing if not another monopoly of truths...thanks for proselytizing otherwise and doing the opposite.
- Perplexed 2, Sarawak, Malaysia., 23/02/2011 19:28
Report abuse
I was calling Clare and her 'team' libelous and sensational and I got censured (and censored by the Evening Standard itself). So, I am thinking that this is no better than what she herself would call a regulated media...only this time it's controlled by people who are in her camp. Looks like this is nothing if not another monopoly of truths...thanks for proselytizing otherwise and doing the opposite.
- Perplexed 2, Sarawak, Malaysia., 23/02/2011 19:26
Report abuse
I was calling Clare and her 'team' libelous and sensational and I got censured (and censored by the Evening Standard itself). So, I am thinking that this is no better than what she herself would call a regulated media...only this time it's controlled by people who are in her camp. Looks like this is nothing if not another monopoly of truths...thanks for proselytizing otherwise and doing the opposite.
- Perplexed, Sarawak, Malaysia., 23/02/2011 19:21
Report abuse
My comment was deleted when there was nothing that violated the so-called 'House Rules'. Talk about freedom of speech...
- Perplexed, Sarawak, Malaysia., 23/02/2011 19:07
Report abuse
There will be a demo in London Monday 28 Feb 2011 at 9.30am. Join it if you are in London. Goggle Friends of Pakatan for details.
- Revi Pillai, London, 23/02/2011 16:08
Report abuse
Thank you for your sacrifice. Your work shine a light into the darkness and gives us hope.
- Jonquil, London, 23/02/2011 15:53
Report abuse
First of, I commend both for bringing out the truth.
Secondly, I can't help but sense Taib's dogs infiltrating the comments here. Go take your business elsewhere cause the truth always hurts like a double-edged sword! Painful aye?!
Last but not least, "Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban!" Peter, just to cheer you on.
- TaibsBountyHunter, Sarawak, Borneo, 23/02/2011 15:45
Report abuse
First of, I can't agree more than what's been said in your reports.
Secondly, I can't help but smell Taib's dogs infiltrating the comments here. Go take your business elsewhere cause the truth always hurts like a double-edged sword! Painful aye?!
Last but not least, "Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban!" Peter, just to cheer you on.
- TaibsBountyHunter, Sarawak, Borneo, 23/02/2011 15:40
Report abuse
Perplexed, SHAME. ON. YOU. You indicate your location as Sarawak, but if you really were a Sarawakian who CARED you'd be cheering this effort on. Shame on you for your comment, and if you really are a Sarawakian, shame on you for condoning the RAPING and PILLAGING of MY land. You have no right to use the term "us" when referring to Sarawakians.
Clare and Peter, thank you for what you're doing. It may seem like a small step, but it's a great one towards long overdue change.
- Sarawakian, Kuching, SARAWAK, 23/02/2011 15:13
Report abuse
Clare and Peter, keep up the good work. Most Sarawakian Dayak politicians are only yes men doing a job to earn their keeps,serving their and Taib's interests. We need a lot of outside help to educate the general pubic, especially those in the rural areas. Only God will reward you for the works done. God bless and have faith, you will meet success one day. Thanks.
- Regem, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 23/02/2011 15:11
Report abuse
Can't read this without cheering you two on. Keep up the good work (and Sarawak Report is so addictive)!
- Lainie, Kuala Lumpur, 23/02/2011 09:04
Report abuse
Great work Clare and Papa OU. You're a great service to the Borneo people who are opposed to the corrupted regime on Taib Mahmud. Welldone.
- Gregory Nyanggau, Miri, Sarawak, 23/02/2011 06:58
Report abuse
Thank you Clare. Thank you for giving us the voice else we would not be heard. Thank you for helping my brother Numpang getting his story out. We thank you and we are truly grateful for your noble deed. Thank you for caring about the Dayaks of Borneo. God Bless.
- Christina S. Suntai, Fort Myers, USA, 23/02/2011 03:36
Report abuse
Well done to Clare and Peter. RFS is a laudable attempt to swim against the current in a torrent of complicit denial.
- Sean, Port Dickson, Malaysia, 23/02/2011 03:11
Report abuse
To Karenf,
You have no interest in this matter and all you can pass is this silly comment.
Do you have any idea of the price that millions of people in Sarawak have paid for the crimes of this one despot? Do you?
I don't expect you to care but you do not have to put down others who really do.
karenf you can f off as far as I'm concerned.
- Bayu KL, London, 22/02/2011 21:01
Report abuse
Why don't you look closer to home Clare? Like your brother in law!!
- Karenf, London, 22/02/2011 17:39
Report abuse
