KUCHING: What can be seen in Sarawak today bears the late Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s imprint, said political analyst James Chin.
“I think many people forget that if we combine Taib’s services as the Governor and Chief Minister together, he was in power for more than 40 to 43 years, and Sarawak has been independent in Malaysia for about 61 years.
“Meaning two-thirds of the time, Sarawak was in the Federation, Malaysia, and Taib was politically in charge.
“So, you cannot talk about Sarawak today without seeing his political imprint everywhere, he said.
He thus described Taib’s legacy as what is called ‘a strongman politics’.
The professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, Australia further said that another part of Taib’s legacy was the environment he created.
“Taib created an environment where Sarawak enjoys the highest level of political autonomy from the federal government compared to other states in Malaysia,” he said.
Taib, 87, passed away at approximately 4.40 am at a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur this morning (Feb 21).
