Former Sarawak governor, chief minister Taib Mahmud dies at 87
His death comes days after his wife took to social media to refute claims her husband had been abducted from a hospital in Kuching.
Abdul Taib Mahmud served as Sarawak's chief minister for more than 30 years. (File photo: Bernama)
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SINGAPORE: Abdul Taib Mahmud, who was Sarawak chief minister for more than 30 years, died on Wednesday (Feb 21) aged 87.
The tycoon remained an ally of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's ruling coalition long after he stepped down as chief minister in 2014 and assumed the largely ceremonial role of governor.
He died before dawn at a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur following an illness, his daughter said on Facebook.
The Sarawak state government declared a two-day mourning period, with flags to be flown at half-mast and all entertainment events postponed.
"Mosques and places of worship are encouraged to hold prayer sessions," the government said in a statement.
His remains will be taken to the State Legislative Assembly in Kuching on Thursday, where the public can pay their final respects from 8am to 11.30am.
Funeral prayers will then be held at Demak Mosque near his residence before a state funeral is held at a family cemetery in Demak Jaya.
The politician's death comes after accusations that he was abducted from a hospital in Kuching.
His wife, Raghad Kurdi Taib, took to social media to refute the allegation that her husband had been "absconded".
She said that she had arranged for him to be admitted to Kuala Lumpur Hospital. He was then taken home based on "informed consent" and his right to "opt for his best care", she said in an Instagram post on Sunday.
"Claims of voluntary removal of medications by myself without alerting the staff on duty are completely untrue," she said, adding that she has filed a police report.
"GREAT LOSS"
Born on May 21, 1936, Taib Mahmud served as Sarawak's chief minister for 33 years.
He was appointed the seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri – or governor – of Sarawak on Mar 1, 2014.
After almost 10 years in the position, he was replaced by Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar who was sworn in on Jan 29.
Anwar expressed his condolences to the people of Sarawak.
"We, especially the people of Sarawak, lost a respected statesman," he said in a Facebook post.
Anwar added that Taib Mahmud's deeds and services to the country and Sarawak would be remembered forever.
Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof described Taib Mahmud's death as a great loss.
"His death is a great loss not only for Sarawak but also for the country. The deceased had also served as a minister at the federal level before returning to Sarawak," he said.
Fellow Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also expressed his condolences in a Facebook post, hailing Taib Mahmud's important role in governing and driving the success of Sarawak.
"I have too many memories with the deceased. He was an approachable person and always concerned for the people."
Sarawak Media Group director and political analyst Jeniri Amir described Taib Mahmud as a charismatic leader who deserves to be called Sarawak's father of modernisation.
"He brought about changes in various fields in Sarawak which also created opportunities for education and employment, and facilitated socio-economic and educational mobility, progressing individuals from rural to urban areas," he said.
"He developed Sarawak from a backward state to a developing state and was able to reduce the state's poverty rate from 70 per cent to about 20 per cent.
"I think he deserves to be given the title not only as the father of development but also as the father and architect of modernisation in Sarawak because he managed to transform Sarawak into its modernised state. This is his legacy," he added.
CONTROVERSY
Taib Mahmud's career was not without controversy, with accusations of graft and deforestation by rights groups
Peter Kallang, chairman of SAVE Rivers, a local indigenous civil group, told AFP that while Taib focused on economic development and building dams, it had a negative impact on the rainforest and indigenous population.
"There has been a drastic loss of forest due to logging and cleared land replaced by large oil palm plantations," he said.
"From 90 per cent forest cover in the 1960s, today Sarawak has about 10 per cent left of its primary forest."
The London-based Sarawak Report, along with the Bruno Manser Fund, a Swiss NGO, previously documented huge investments around the world by Taib's circle.
"Taib needs to be taken by the ankles and shook, so the money falls out," investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown told AFP in 2018 when she arrived back in Malaysia after being blacklisted for years.
On Wednesday, James Chin, a Malaysia expert at the University of Tasmania in Australia said: "Only the political elites in Sarawak will miss Taib."
"For the majority of the Dayak community in Sarawak, I don't think they will miss him, as many felt they were politically marginalised by Taib."
