Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, the eldest son of the Sarawak chief minister, has divorced his wife of 19 years.

He pronounced the talak satu (declaration of divorce) this morning before Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court judge Mohamad Abdullah.

NONE Mahmud (right) , wearing a black songkok , white long-sleeved shirt and black pants, looked calm when making the declaration.

"I, Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, divorce my wife with talak satu ," he said and then signed the required papers.

Mahmud was married to Shahnaz A Majid, the sister of jazz queen Sheila Majid. They have a son aged 17.

The couple had been estranged for 12 years and lawyers for both parties said the breakdown of their marriage was due to irreconcilable differences.

NONE This was verified by Justice Mohamad, who recognised that the marriage could not be salvaged, and agreed that the divorce would take effect from today.

Shahnaz (far right) had applied for a divorce before Mahmud filed a separate application.

Mahmud was represented by Saadiah Din, while Mohd Rafie Shafie and Akbardin Abdul Kader appeared for Shahnaz.

The case was transferred from the Lower Syariah Court last month.

Mohd Rafie also applied for the joint matrimonial assets and damages to be heard today.

Custody of son

Following agreement by both parties, Shahnaz was granted custody of their son, while Mahmud was awarded visitation rights.

Justice Mohamad also fixed June 27 either for trial or settlement of joint matrimonial assets of RM400 million sought by Shahnaz.

NONE Saadiah had asked for a date other than May 31, which had been fixed earlier for her client to file a defence statement, and to reply or settle the matter.

"If there is no settlement, the trial for joint matrimonial assets will go on," said the judge.

Shahnaz is seeking an additional RM100 million in mutaah (damages), with the application to be re-filed soon.

She told reporters later that she is glad to have custody of her son who has been living with her.

" Alhamdulillah , I have secured custody. He has just obtained his SPM results and will continue his studies in the United Kingdom," she said.

Rafie told reporters that Shahnaz's claim could be in excess of RM400 million as there is an order for discovery of assets.

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