FOR long, the name Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd has conjured up images of power, lavishness and wealth. But that’s less to do with the company and more about its controlling shareholders. CMS, if you don’t already know, is the flagship listed asset of Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s family.
There is another listed entity, UBG Bhd (then, called Utama Banking Group) linked to the family but a sale (RHB Bank), massive restructuring and several acquisitions later in 2008 saw the family’s controlling interest reduced to an associate level.