| Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s daughter and her developer husband are proud owners of Ottawa’s second most expensive house, worth RM28.3 million.
The palatial home belonging to Jamilah Hamidah Taib and her husband Sean Murray is ranked No 2 among the most expensive private residences in the Canadian capital, according to the Municipal Property Assessment Corp.
 “The couple's house at 688 Manor Ave in Rockcliffe Park, completed late last year, is worth C$9,609,000 (RM28.3 million), assessors have decided,” daily Ottawa Citizen reported in on Jan 19. The annual property tax bill alone for the house is C$100,000 (RM293,000).
According to the daily, the most expensive Ottawa home belongs to Marlen and Michael Cowpland, which is valued at C$12,535,000 (RM36.8 million)
Jamilah and Murray are high-flying business people - they both own Sakto Corporation, a major real estate operator in Ottawa.
They also own Sakto Development Corporation, a multi-million dollar development and construction company in Ottawa, while Jamilah is the sole director of Sakto Investment Corporation.
The couple’s newly-built mansion, which is clad in marble along with some 20 chandeliers, is in the post suburb of Rockcliffe where 24 of the top 25 Ottawa homes are located.
 “Well-heeled neighbours were impressed when the couple showed off their new home at a recent house-warming and Christmas party,” said the daily.
According to one guest, the mansion looks like an old English manor.
“The Murray-Taib home has cathedral ceilings throughout the ground floor, and about 12,500 square feet of living space. It takes up much of the lot size of less than one acre,” added Ottawa Citizen.
Al-Jazeera report on Taib’s family businesses
Jamilah, the elder of Taib’s two daughters, has along with the family been involved in a number of key business interests in Sarawak.
Jamilah and members of her family are owners of top Sarawak companies, including conglomerate Cahaya Mata Sarawak (CMS).
CMS is headed by Taib’s son Sulaiman Abdul Rahman and brother Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, and a sizable stake of the company is owned by the chief minister’s wife, Leila Taib.
On Thursday night, international broadcaster Al-Jazeera’s 101 East programme screened a special report on the award of lucrative state government contracts to companies controlled by Abdul Taib’s family. Taib, who has been chief minister in Sarawak for 27 years, filed a law suit two years ago against Malaysiakini over a report on alleged timber kickbacks paid by Japanese shippers to a company in Hong Kong said to be linked to Taib’s family.
The case is to be heard in the High Court later this year. Photos from Ottawa Citizen | 
-a.jpg)
