KUCHING: Former Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak, Tun Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, passed away at 4.40 am at a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur today.
He was 87.
Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah who confirmed Taib’s demise, said a state funeral will be held at the new Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) complex here.
Serving three terms as the Governor of Sarawak from March 1, 2014, until Jan 26 of this year, he left an indelible mark on the state’s political landscape.
His legacy includes an unprecedented 33-year tenure as Sarawak’s chief minister, from 1981 to 2014, making him the longest-serving head of government in Malaysian state history.
He assumed the role of Chief Minister when he was 45 years old in 1981, shaping the course of Sarawak’s development.
On Feb 12, 2014, he submitted his resignation letter to the Governor of Sarawak, marking the end of his tenure as chief minister.
Simultaneously, he was appointed as the 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara on Feb 28 and took the oath of office the following day.
Taib was born on May 21, 1936, in Kampung Sungei Merbau, Miri, to Mahmud Abang Yahya and Hajjah Hamidah l Yakub. He was the eldest of nine siblings.
Taib began his education at Andi Malay School and later attended St. Joseph’s Primary School in Miri.
He earned a Shell scholarship to continue his studies at St. Joseph’s Secondary School in Kuching.
In 1958, his outstanding performance in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) examination secured him a scholarship to pursue further studies at the University of Adelaide in South Australia. He graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1960.
After graduation, he was appointed as an associate to Justice Sir Herbert Mayo of the Supreme Court of South Australia. He pursued his postgraduate studies at Harvard International Summer Course in 1964.
Taib contributed in changing the skyline of Sarawak, in both economic and politics since the formation of Malaysia.
He entered politics in 1963 when he joined the Sarawak Legislative Council and served until 1966.
He was barely 27 years old when he was appointed as the Minister of Communications and Works in 1963 under the first Chief Minister of Sarawak Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan’s cabinet — making him the youngest man ever to be sworn in as a state minister in the political history of Sarawak.
He was later appointed as the Minister of Development and Forestry in 1966.
After a stint at the state-level, Taib was called by Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman to be part of the federal cabinet after winning the Samarahan parliamentary seat in 1970.
Taib excelled in all the portfolios assigned to him such as Minister of General Planning and Socio-Economic Research, Minister of Primary Industries, Minister of Defence and finally as Minister of Federal Territories.
In 1981, he resigned from the federal cabinet to contest in the Sebandi state seat by-election; which he won uncontested and was appointed as the fourth Chief Minister of Sarawak.
On March 26, 1981, Taib, who was only 45 years old, officially succeeded his uncle the late Tun Abdul Rahman Ya’kub as the fourth Sarawak Chief Minister and served for 33 years, until 2014.
Taib represented the Sebandi seat until 1987 before switching to the Asajaya state constituency.
In the 2001 Sarawak state election, he contested and won the Balingian seat, serving as its incumbent until he retired from politics.
Taib Mahmud married Datuk Amar Laila Taib in 1959. She passed away in 2009 due to cancer. They had four children — Jamilah Hamidah Taib, Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib, and Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib.
On Dec 18, 2010, at the age of 74, he married again for the second time to his current wife Toh Puan Ragad Kurdi Taib.
