Two years ago on January 11, 2017, Sarawak lost their beloved chief minister Pehin Sri Tan Sri Adenan Satem who passed away unexpectedly.
On this day, ‘Tok Nan’ as he is fondly known, would have celebrated his 75th birthday if fate had not struck a cruel blow depriving Sarawak of one of the nation’s visionaries.
His wife Datuk Amar Jamilah Haji Anu can still remember the last moments with her husband who suffered a heart attack — four days after being admitted to the Sarawak Heart Center at Kota Samarahan.
As he lay on his hospital bed he whispered to her. “I am flying away, please fulfil my legacy.” Soon after, he had departed.
Today as we celebrate the life of the fifth Chief Minister of Sarawak who was at the helm of the government for only two years, the New Sarawak Tribune will take you through his momentous life’s journey.
Born in Kuching on January 27, 1944 — at the tail end of the Second World War — Adenan was the son of Customs officer Haji Satem bin Haji Sulong, a Kuching Malay from Kampung Bandarsah 2, just off the present Jalan Ajibah Abol.
Haji Satem was no less a rare breed — he had excelled as a civil servant in the British colonial government and received a long service award. During the run-up to the formation of Malaysia in the early 1960s, he was also appointed as a Counsellor with the Cobbold Commission.
Adenan’s mother Hajjah Rabiah binti Usman who was of Indian-Muslim and Chinese descent and the second wife of Haji Satem, also a religious teacher in their village, was also a great influence in Adenan’s life.
Both husband and wife were of the opinion that their seven children would be sent to either one of the top schools in Kuching, St Joseph and St Thomas, they chose the former.
Adenan’s oldest brother Amin was the first to attend St Joseph’s school while Adenan, who was the second youngest of the siblings, followed in older brother’s footsteps and spent eight years in the Catholic institution.
An avid reader, Adenan first attended St Anthony’s in Sarikei followed by Sacred Heart School in Sibu. On his return to Kuching, Adenan attended primary five at St Joseph’s school where he remained until he completed his Upper Six examinations.
Adenan gave credit to his mother for encouraging and guiding him from childhood until he earned a scholarship to study law at the University of Adelaide in South Australia.
Adenan was proud of his alma mater because two of his seniors, Tun Abdul Rahman Yakub and Tun Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, had also excelled at St Joseph’s school and eventually became lawyers. Both eventually became Sarawak chief ministers.
In 1964 after completing his Higher School Certificate (HSC) with distinction, he worked as a temporary teacher and then joined the Sarawak Tribune as a reporter for six months. A prolific writer, he wrote several articles, one of which was “The Burden and the Glory” on the holding of public office.
Adenan explained that in his article he wrote that when an individual assumes public office, it “burdens” which one can be rewarded with “glory”. He said that glory always came with a price. “After a while, the glory fades and it is always the burden that remains.”
After Taib returned to Sarawak as a crown counsel from the Adelaide university in 1962, it was Adenan’s turn to emulate his mentor. On July 22, 1963 Taib was appointed as one of Sarawak’s first cabinet ministers.
Little did Adenan realise that his destiny and Taib’s would be intertwined.
After returning from Australia where he served as a prosecutor in the Crown Law Office of Adelaide from 1969 till 1970, he tied the knot with Taib’s sister Aisha Zainab.
In 1972, a year after his appointment as a magistrate in Kuching, Adenan and was invited to Kuala Lumpur to become an assistant secretary in the Natural Resources Ministry under Taib.
Three years later Adenan returned to Kuching and ventured into legal practice. His political career took off in 1976 when he was appointed as the legal advisor and a committee member of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).
In 1978 he contested in the Muara Tuang state constituency (now called Samarahan) by-election and won by defeating Razali Sabang of the opposition party PAJAR by a majority of 2,797 votes.
He retained the seat in Sarawak’s third state election in Sept 1979 when he defeated opposition Pajar candidate Bujang Ali Nor by a larger majority of 3,422 votes.
In December 1983, Adenan continued his winning style and became the Muara Tuang incumbent for another term by beating Abang Ibrahim Abang Othman, an Independent, by a majority of 3,696 votes.
The incumbent won in the fifth state election in April 1987 when the state Barisan Nasional narrowly beat the opposition MAJU group led by former Chief Minster Tun Rahman Yakub by 28 to 20 seats.
Adenan won again in the September 1991 state election doubling his majority of 8,272 votes; and due to his popularity won unopposed in the subsequent in September 1996. Five years later in September 2001, Adenan went on to beat Independent contestant Suhaili Hamid with an even larger majority with 9,708 votes in the same constituency.
With that win Adenan became a record seven-term assemblyman for the Muara Tuang constituency.
Adenan becomes a Parliamentarian
In March 2004, Adenan was hand-picked to enter federal politics and contested the Batang Sadong seat in the 11th parliamentary election. He defeated PAS candidate Adam Ahid by a massive majority of 9,731 votes.
He was appointed as federal Minister of Natural Resources and Environment — a portfolio he held for only two years before returning to Kuching where he remained as a parliamentarian but without any specific task or portfolio.
In May 2006 Adenan exchange constituencies and was fielded in the Tanjung Datu which he won after beating PKR candidate Sobey Daud, with a majority of 4,136 votes.
Four years later in 2010, he was appointed Special Advisor to the Chief Minister, and later in 2011 as Minister with Special Functions as well as to the State Minerals Management Board — “Lembaga Pengurusan Mineral Negeri”.
During this time Adenan’s heart condition became a stumbling block as the over-zealous politician pushed himself harder while trying to solve the many issues that Sarawak faced.
One of Adenan’s great concerns was for the Penan—a disadvantaged minority and the environmental degradation of their jungle environment that would leave them behind the rest of the society.
In the 1980s timber activities in remote Baram caused wanton destruction which led to a decade-long series of anti-logging blockades.
A powerful advocate of environmental degradation, Adenan referred to the Bible, in a pun where he portrayed man as the biggest destroyer of the forests.
He said, “In the 1970s, I wrote a speech (during a State Legislative sitting) called ‘The Eighth Day’. According to biblical knowledge, God created the world in six days, on the seventh day he rested.
“But on the eighth day, mankind messed it up.”
Destined to become Chief Minister
When Taib fell ill in 2005, there were rumours that Taib was going to step down but not before appointing his successor; the four names mentioned were Adenan, Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan and Dato Sri Effendi Norwawi.
However, Taib recovered and it was not until 2013 when the Chief Minister agreed to step down in favour of Adenan.
Adenan said that his selection as successor was only indicated to him only weeks before his appointment in early 2014.
Both Taib and Adenan, had separately planned a pilgrimage for the Haj in Mecca when a chance meeting brought them together.
“Taib was already booked to go to Mecca and learnt that Adenan was also going on the Haj. By pre-destination and God’s grace, Taib invited Adenan to join his entourage where the Chief Minister popped the question him becoming Chief Minister and the rest is history.
Adenan — The chosen one!
On Feb 12, 2014 Taib announced he was stepping down and had chosen Adenan Satem as his successor. Taib expressed his confidence that with Sarawak’s established policies, Adenan would be able to ensure that state maintains its momentum of greater development.
Adenan’s close call
Several years before Adenan Satem became Chief Minister, he almost died on two separate occasions when he was admitted to the IJN — the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur and a private hospital in Singapore where he had to be revived after two heart attacks.
Adenan said he was ready to go when God gave him a new lease of life to do what he had to do.
“I was very sick and I thought I was going (to die). I called all my relatives, my children and grandchildren. They all came and you know when you called all your children and grandchildren, you know what it’s all about. I was ready to go. But God is great and I recovered and I was back to normal”.
His greatest gift to Sarawak was on May 7, 2014 when he led the Sarawak to a famous victory in the state election, taking 72 out of 82 state assembly seats.
Two years later on January 11, 2016—16 days short of his 73rd birthday—Adenan had gone to be with his maker.
Adenan’s demise shocks Abang Johari
Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari bin Tun Openg who succeeded Adenan as chief minister recalls that fateful day when he received the tragic news that the beloved ‘Tok Nan’ had passed away.
“It was a shock because despite the warning of family and medical practitioners after several prior heart attacks, he never slowed down. He was a man with a mission,” said Abang Johari.
Despite his unexpected departure, Malaysia still mourns the passing of a great man, a loving husband and father and a great Sarawakian who loved his country more than anything.
Adenan’s wife had this to say about her husband. “He always had a sense of humour that even to his last days in hospital, we never realised that he was also preparing us for our road ahead in his absence”.
“If I can describe him, he was not only a good husband and father, he was a hero to all of us. Throughout his life he never complained or took advantage of any of his position, even after he became the Chief Minister”.
“He was my mentor and friend and a breadwinner whom we all cherished. Above all, he loved Sarawak with all his heart.”
Indeed, Adenan Satem will go down in the annals of Sarawak as a man who not only cared for his family with devotion, but society as well as his beloved Sarawak with loyalty and devotion.
