Abdul Taib Mahmud

Abdul Taib bin Mahmud (عبدالطيب بن محمود; 21 May 1936 – 21 February 2024) was a Malaysian politician who served as the seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak from March 2014 to January 2024 and the fourth Chief Minister of Sarawak from March 1981 to February 2014.

He is referred to as the Father of Modern Sarawak (Bapa Pemodenan Sarawak).

Taib Mahmud was born at Kampung Sungei Merbau, Miri, Sarawak, on 21 May 1936.

He was the eldest child of Mahmud bin Haji Abang Yahya (father) and Hajjah Hamidah binti Yakub (mother).

Taib had nine siblings namely Ibrahim, Onn, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Arip, Mohammad Tufail, Aisah Zainab, Roziah, Faridah Hanon and Zaleha.

Taib's father was a descendant of Pehin Datu Yahya Setia Raja, where the latter was an aristocrat that was linked to the Royal Court of Brunei.

However, Taib had an impoverished life because his father worked as a carpenter for Shell Oil Company.

Taib's uncle, Abdul Rahman Ya'kub raised Taib from the time when he was a boy.

Taib was five years old when the Japanese army landed in Miri in 1941.

Taib's father, considering his family's safety from Japanese occupation, decided to move his family to his ancestral village in Mukah.

After the war ended, the family returned to Miri.

Taib undertook his early schooling at Andi Malay School and later St Joseph's Primary School in Miri.

Taib later won a Shell scholarship to study at St. Joseph's Secondary School in Kuching with the help of his uncle, Abdul Rahman who was also a Probationary Native Officer in Miri.

There, Taib met George Chan Hong Nam who would later become the deputy chief minister of Sarawak and Bujang bin Mohammed Nor who would later become Sarawak state secretary under the Taib's chieftainship.

After school, Taib Mahmud planned to become a doctor but he was persuaded by Abdul Rahman to take up law.

According to Taib:

In 1958, his excellent performance in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) examination earned him a Colombo Plan scholarship, allowing Taib to further his studies at the University of Adelaide in South Australia.

Born into a noble Melanau-Malay family, Taib embarked on his academic journey, earning his first degree in law from the University of Adelaide in 1960.

There, he met Laila (née Lejla Chaleck), a Polish woman of Lipka Tatar descent who embraced the Muslim faith.

They married the previous year and had four children, including Sulaiman and Hanifah.

Upon graduation, they returned to Sarawak, and Taib began his career as a prosecutor at the Crown Council Law Office.

He graduated with Bachelor of Laws degree from the university in 1960.

After graduation, he was appointed an associate to Justice Sir Herbert Mayo of the Supreme Court of South Australia.

His foray into politics began in 1963 when he was appointed the state's Minister of Communications and Public Works by Chief Minister Stephen Kalong Ningkan.

"I was obliged to study law because of family pressures and expectations. I preferred medicine because I felt Sarawak dearly needed doctors. I was maneuvered toward law by my uncle. When I entered politics in 1963, I told myself that I would give Parti Bumiputera five years of my life."

His political works deepened in 1964 when he assumed the role of vice chairman of Barisan Rakyat Jati Sarawak (BERJASA) party.

He then served as state Minister of Development and Forestry under Tawi Sli in 1967.

Over the course of his parliamentary career spanning from 1968 to 1981, Taib held multiple ministerial portfolios under Prime Ministers Tunku Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak Hussein, Hussein Onn and Mahathir Mohamad.

Taib then transitioned to federal politics, securing a seat as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Kota Samarahan in 1970.

In 1981, Taib returned to Sarawak and became its chief minister, succeeding his uncle Abdul Rahman Ya'kub.

Throughout his leadership, accusations of corruption and allegations of personal gain from Sarawak's abundant natural resources marred his reputation.

However, Taib's administration was also credited with significantly reducing the state's poverty rate from 70 percent to single-digit figures.

In 2008, after nearly four decades in Parliament, Taib relinquished his role as an MP, making him the second longest-serving parliamentarian in Malaysia.

The following year, Laila died following a prolonged battle with heart cancer.

Taib then married a Syrian-born woman, Ragad Waleed Alkurdi.

Subsequently, in 2014, he stepped down as Chief Minister and was succeeded by Adenan Satem.

His tenure, spanning an unprecedented 33 years, earned him the distinction of being the longest-serving head of government in a Malaysian state.

Taib was then appointed the seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak, a position he held until 2024.

Shortly afterwards, he died on 21 February 2024 at the age of 87.

He was informally known as Pak Uban, which translates to 'White-haired Uncle.' Among Chinese-speaking communities, he was referred to as Pek Moh, meaning 'white hair.' Another informal appellation for him, stemming from the British Brooke family's rule over Sarawak as White Rajahs in the 19th and early 20th centuries, was the 'last white rajah' or 'white-haired rajah.'