It fears that Adenan’s decision to field the five as candidates will further exacerbate corruption in the state.

C4 Executive Director Cynthia Gabriel said in a statement today: “The inclusion of big timber-tycoons in the election runs contrary to his stern warning a mere six months ago, when he promised to clean-up the highly controversial Sarawakian timber industry and warned corporate elites “not to mess with him”, clearly referring to the repercussions of corruption.

“Now, the move to include timber tycoons in politics, especially in a state where deforestation is a pressing problem, creates a wide opportunity for further abuse and corruption.”

Cynthia said there were numerous counts of corruption, human rights abuses and unjust land grabs by corporate tycoons who were aided by powerful politicians in the state.

“The appointment of these corporate elites into politics further advances conflict-of-interest policies on both political and corporate fronts, raising questions of integrity and impartiality.”

Urging Adenan to drop the five, Cynthia said C4 had always maintained that business and politics should not mix.

She said the contradictory statements and conflicting decisions of Adenan had also brought into question his integrity and credibility as a leader.

“This backtracking has severely damaged the Chief Minister’s stance and credibility as a reformer who pledged to crack down on these illegal activities, and bring a new age of integrity and clean-governance into the state of Sarawak.”

She said it seemed to mirror what had happened in the case of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who began by portraying himself as a reformist but, as time went on, showed himself to be an autocrat.