Looking back on the illustrious career of Sarawak’s ‘one in a million’ leader

THE appointment of Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar as Sarawak’s eighth Yang di-Pertua Negeri on Friday drew the curtains on his predecessor Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s long and distinguished career in public service.

Taib, 87, was first appointed Sarawak Governor on March 1, 2014, a day after stepping down as Sarawak Chief Minister – a position he held for 33 years from 1981.

He had succeeded the late Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng, and was Head of State for three terms.

In bidding farewell to Taib, thesundaypost takes a brief look back on the six decades of public service of Sarawak’s longest-serving politician whose ‘Politics of Development’ policy helped propel the state to its position today.

From humble beginnings, Taib – born in Miri on May 21, 1936 to carpenter Mahmud Abang Yahya and Hamidah Yakub – started his schooling at St Joseph’s Primary School in Miri before proceeding to St Joseph’s Secondary School in Kuching.

He excelled in his Cambridge Senior examination, and furthered his studies under a Colombo Plan Scholarship at University of Adelaide in South Australia where he read law.

There, he met and later married Polish-born Lejla Chaleck – who later adopted the name Laila Taib – in 1959. Laila passed away at age 68 in 2009.

Taib returned to Sarawak to enter politics in 1963 and, at the age of 27, was one of Sarawak’s first six cabinet ministers led by then chief minister Tan Sri Stephen Kalong Ningkan, holding portfolios such as communication and works minister, and development and forestry minister.

His federal career took off when he became Samarahan MP in 1969, and went on to hold several portfolios including works, post and communication deputy minister; deputy minister in the prime minister’s department; primary industries minister; and defence minister.

The turning point in Sarawak’s history came in March of 1981 when Taib was sworn in as the fourth chief minister, taking over from his uncle Tun Abdul Rahmah Yakub.

His Politics of Development policy paved the way for the state to go from being an economic backwater to the powerhouse that it is today, delivering development and prosperity to the people.

Up until his retirement as chief minister on Feb 28, 2014, Taib had blazed the trail of development and progress for Sarawak, leaving the state a much better place for all.

Taib and Laila’s marriage saw the couple blessed with four children – Jamilah, Mahmud Abu Bekir, Sulaiman Abdul Rahman, and Hanifah Hajar – and 15 grandchildren.

Following Laila’s passing, Taib remarried on Dec 18, 2010 to Raghad Kurdi and welcomed her two children into the family.

Taib’s contribution to Sarawak’s growth is best summed up by his successor as chief minister, the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem, who described him as a ‘one in a million’ leader.