Former Sarawak Governor and CM Taib Mahmud passed away at age 87

Longest-serving Chief Minister in Malaysia

Born on 21 May 1936 in Miri, Sarawak, Abdul Taib served as the Chief Minister of Sarawak for 33 years.

On 1 March 2014, he assumed the role of the seventh Yang Dipertua Negeri of Sarawak, succeeding Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng.

After nearly a decade in office, he was succeeded by Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who was sworn in as the Yang Dipertua Negeri on 29 January, replacing Abdul Taib.

There is no doubt that Abdul Taib Mahmud left an enduring mark on the Sarawak.

Previously, Abdul Taib was the sole political figure from the era of Malaysia’s establishment who remained alive and had been a part of the Sarawak Cabinet formed on 22 July 1963.

Known affectionately to locals as “Pak Uban,” translating to “Uncle White Hair,” and to the Chinese community as “Pek Moh,” or “White Hair.”

Having held the position of Chief Minister of Sarawak since 1981, he holds the record for being the longest-serving Chief Minister / Menteri Besar in Malaysia.

Abdul Taib won a Colombo Plan scholarship in 1956 after completing secondary education to study law at the University of Adelaide in Australia.

In 1959, he married Puan Sri Laila Taib, and they had four children – Jamilah Taib, Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib, and Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib. After Laila’s passing in 2009, he married Toh Puan Raghad Kurdi Taib in 2010.

Often referred to as the father of modern Sarawak, he played a crucial role in transforming Sarawak into a modern economy through his “politics of development” approach.

This approach reached its pinnacle with the launch of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) in 2008. SCORE aimed to develop an energy-intensive industrial corridor by harnessing the state’s renewable energy potential, as envisioned by Abdul Taib.

Controversies surrounding Taib Mahmud’s tenure