Abdul Taib Mahmud

Although Taib was a minister in the Sarawak cabinet with a superior education background, he was frustrated when his BARJASA party was consulted last after expatriate, SNAP party, and Sarawak Chinese Association (SCA) were consulted in a cabinet decision making. Taib's anger towards Ningkan's leadership intensified in 1965 when Ningkan decided to pass a land bill which would allow Chinese to purchase native land. BARJASA party later formed an alliance with Parti Negara Sarawak (PANAS), and Parti Pesaka Sarawak (PESAKA) in order to challenge Ningkan. Taib and another BARJASA leader Awang Hipni was expelled from Sarawak cabinet by Ningkan. In June 1966, Taib and his BARJASA partner was re-accepted into the cabinet in order to end the ruling coalition crisis. However, the crisis between SNAP and BARJASA worsened into a constitutional crisis and Ningkan was removed as chief minister in 1966.[14]

Taib later became Minister of Development and Forestry in 1967 under the leadership of new Sarawak chief minister Tawi Sli.[16] On several occasions, Taib acted as Chief Minister. Taib later fall out with Tawi Sli. Taib decided to shift his focus onto the Malaysian federal cabinet.[14] Taib was appointed Federal Assistant Minister for Commerce and Industry from 1968 until 1970.[20] He represented Parti Bumiputera Sarawak, which was a component party of Sarawak Alliance, in 1969 Malaysian general election.[21] During the 1970 parliamentary election for Sarawak, he was elected as the member of Malaysian parliament for Kota Samarahan seat.[22] He was later appointed to numerous portfolios including Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (1970–1972) and Natural Resources Minister (1972–1974).[20] In 1973, Taib was appointed deputy president of the newly formed PBB before subsequently becoming the president of the party.[23] Abdul Rahman Ya'kub was Taib's political mentor for 20 years.[15] In 1980, Taib was appointed as federal territory minister which would be the Taib's last portfolio before he returned to Sarawak. During this time, Taib was able to develop a good relationship with Mahathir Mohamad, who would later become Malaysian fourth prime minister. Taib stepped down from federal cabinet post on 9 March 1981.[14]

Dissatisfaction with the Taib leadership arose when a group of PBB politicians claimed that the interests of Bumiputeras were being neglected. The group claimed Taib Mahmud had exclusively favoured the Chinese and Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP).[24] The Dayaks in the Sarawak Dayak People's Party (PBDS) were quite frustrated because the Chief Minister post has not been in their hands for 17 years. However, the main factor for upheaval in PBDS was the suspicion of Chief Minister Taib towards Leo Moggie, the PBDS president.[25] According to a doctoral dissertation written by David Walter Brown, fissures between the factions controlled by Taib and his uncle, Tun Abdul Rahman Ya'kub gradually developed after Rahman Ya'kub stepped down as Chief Minister. In 1985, Rahman Ya'kub was also removed from the office of governor by Taib himself. This caused Rahman Ya'kub to launch a series of attacks against Taib in 1987, widely known as the Ming Court Affair.[26]

Rahman Ya'kub headed a group of disappointed Sarawak politicians from Sarawak National Party (SNAP) and PBDS to gather in Ming Court Hotel in Kuala Lumpur to move a motion of no confidence against Taib's leadership by signing letters collectively. Daniel Tajem, a former deputy chief minister and Leo Moggie were the other main plotters of this affair. Seeing such a political crisis, Taib immediately called for a snap state election in 1987, which he narrowly won.[27] His coalition won 28 out of 48 seats in the state assembly and later received another 8 defected assemblymen from PBDS, decreasing the original seats for PBDS from 15 to 7.[15][28] PBDS remained in the opposition until it was readmitted into Sarawak BN in 1994. The internal bickering of SNAP and PBDS has benefited the rule of Taib in the years to come.[27]

Taib Mahmud (3rd from left) during International Energy Week at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching; together with Torstein Dale Sjøtveit, CEO of Sarawak Energy Berhad (left most)

Eco-tourism forms a major part of the economy of Sarawak. Taib's administration with the help of the Malaysian federal government, has made Sarawak's World Heritage more accessible through the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway.[29] Manufacturing, industrial, and tourism sector are given special attention. High technology industries aimed to play a role into the economic expansion and creation of jobs in the state. As a result of Taib Mahmud's policy of development, Sarawak GDP growth exceeded national average in 1995. To balance the development between urban and rural areas, Taib Mahmud also endorsed town planning, natural resources planning, large-scale plantations, and native customary land (NCR) development.[23] However, cases of exploitation of NCR lands for logging, mining, and plantation purposes have also been reported.[30][31] Sarawak is the first state in Malaysia to fully implement the e-government initiative while the Sarawak State Library is the first e-library in Malaysia. Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) which was introduced in 2008, is aimed to diversify the future economy of Sarawak.[32]

Since 1981, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown from RM 6.5 billion to RM 19.7 billion in 1995 and increased further to an estimated of RM 29.9 billion in 1999. In 1995, 31.9% of the population was living in poverty and 10% in hard-core poverty. By 1997, the incidence of poverty was down to 7.5% and hard-core poverty went down to 0.7%. In 1980, only 31.8% of people of Sarawak had water supply, but in 1995, the figure has reached 85% of the population.[23]

But Sarawak's prosperity is not evenly shared across the socio-economic classes. Unlike the data above, academics and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are independent of Taib's PBB party revealed that the large disparity between urban and rural poverty remains a major challenge for Taib's three decades-old administration.[33][34]

During his tenure, Taib has been able to disciplined the co-operation of leaders from different political parties to reach a common political consensus. Taib considered that his proudest achievements are in terms of economic development, social integration and industrialisation in Sarawak.[35]

The Sarawak government announced that they are stepping up their effort for wildlife conservation and protection. A programme has been put in place by Sarawak government to save the flora and fauna affected by the construction of the Bakun Dam.

Other programmes include the Heart 2 Heart orangutan campaign which invites the public to get involved with orangutan conservation; orang-utan and turtle adoption; protection of the dugong and the Irrawaddy dolphin, which are both endangered species; and the Reef Ball project that will rehabilitate Sarawak's ocean ecosystem by placing artificial reef modules in the sea to form new habitats.

In 1992, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) also financed the establishment of Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary which now houses about 4000 orang utan. This wildlife century also aimed to improve the livelihood of the rural population and to reduce their dependence on forests.[36]

During the celebrations of Taib's 28th year in power as the chief minister of Sarawak, speaking at Dewan Suarah Bintulu Taib said that his vision for Sarawak was for it to become the richest state in Malaysia by the year 2030. It is the intention of Taib and his administration to develop more high-skilled jobs.[37]

To achieve this, the state is investing money in developing new higher education institutions. This policy is intended to help move the economy away from industry which relies heavily on Sarawak's natural resources to a more skilled, serviced-based economy.[37]

Taib announced his cabinet reshuffle on 8 November 2009.[38] Six new state assemblymen were appointed as assistant ministers, while the portfolios of others were changed. Five out of the six new appointees were sworn in on 21 November 2009 before the state governor, Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Muhamad Salahuddin in the state assembly. The remaining assistant minister, Abdul Wahab Aziz, was on a pilgrimage.[39] The new cabinet line-up took effect on 1 December 2009.[39][40]

Taib, who retained the Finance, and Planning and Resource Management Minister portfolios, said the reorganisation was meant to prepare Sarawak for new development policies and approaches that could take place some time in the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) or after the next state election. He also said that with the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) coming up, he would reform Syarikat SESCO Berhad (SESCO) in the next one or two years.[40]

On 28 September 2011, Taib again announced another cabinet reshuffle with the appointment of Senior Ministers in the cabinet and renaming several ministries. Taib also created new ministries that will focused on the welfare, women and family development.[41]

Despite being the target of an onslaught of attacks by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition,[42] Taib led PBB to a clean sweep of seats contested in the 2011 state election, winning an eighth consecutive term as chief minister.[43] However, the Barisan Nasional coalition suffered its worst performance ever in a Sarawak state election, with coalition partner Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) suffering badly due to his poor standing among the Chinese community.[3][44] Following the election, he was under pressure from the BN national leadership to step down to avoid hurting BN's prospects during the next general election.[45] Despite this, Taib remained vague about his retirement plans.[46]

Taib wed 18-year-old Laila Taib, a Polish Muslim of Lipka Tatar origin, at South Australia's Adelaide mosque on 13 January 1959.[16] On 29 April 2009, Taib's wife Laila died of cancer. She was buried at the Demak Jaya cemetery in Kuching the following day.[73]

Taib's mother Hajah Hamidah Yakub died in Normah Specialist Medical Centre, Kuching due to old age at 90 years old when Taib Mahmud was hospitalised in Singapore and underwent surgery to remove a suspected cancerous lump in his colon on 11 January 2006.[74] Taib's son Sulaiman Abdul Rahman is married to Anisa, who is the daughter of Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam.[60] His daughter, Jamilah Taib Murray and husband Sean Murray are involved in Sakto property development in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[61] In 2009, Taib's four-year-old granddaughter Celestia Lulua Mahmud Abu Bekir died two days after slipping into the swimming pool at her home at Duta Nusantara Condominium in Kuala Lumpur.[75]

Taib Mahmud and his Syrian wife in 2011

On 18 December 2010, at the age of 74, he married again for the second time to Ragad Waleed Alkurdi, a Syrian-born woman and widow in her early 30s; however the wedding ceremony was held in private, attended only by his family members and 200 invited guests.[76][77] On 8 January 2011, he was seen together with his new wife, attending a wedding reception of a former MP in Kuala Lumpur. Both held a wedding reception sometime in the middle of January, and the reception were held at the New Sarawak State Legislative Building Complex.[78]

In 2016, the National Registration Department (NRD) was questioned for their decision to have speed up Ragad Waleed Alkurdi's citizenship approval in an absurd 'record' time of just six years, while permanent residents and undocumented Sarawak natives normally would have waited for decades for the same privilege.[79] In 2018, Ragad Kurdi Taib, along with her two children from her first marriage, have been fast-tracked into fully fledged Melanaus and accorded native bumiputera status in the state led to many Sarawakians outrage.[80][81]

Taib Mahmud's private residence by the Sarawak River.

Taib owns a mansion in Demak Jaya which overlooks the Sarawak River. According to photos in the July to December 2006 newsletter of Naim Cendera Holdings Bhd, Taib's living room is decorated with gilt-edged European-style sofa sets.[58] He also wears a ring with walnut-sized red gem surrounded by small diamonds. Laila Taib and her children are the majority shareholders of Sitehost Pty. Ltd., Australia, which owns Adelaide Hilton Hotel.[14] Taib was described as "flamboyant with expensive tastes",[82] an avid collector of Southeast Asian betel nut paraphernalia.[83] Taib's daughter Jamilah and family members has been establishing real property estates in Canada,[84] United States,[85][86] and United Kingdom.[87] Taib Mahmud admitted that his daughter owns properties in Canada and London but he denied that he has any business interests in his daughter's properties.[88][89]

Bruno Manser Fonds has since disclosed that Taib and his immediate family (his children, siblings and cousin Hamed Sepawi) have shares in more than 330 companies in Malaysia alone and more than 400 companies in total around the globe worth several billion US dollars.[90] In September 2012, Bruno Manser Fonds estimated that Taib Mahmud net worth is at least 15 billion US dollars.[91] The United Kingdom,[92] Switzerland,[93] and Germany has since opened investigations on Taib Mahmud's wealth.[94]

In Taib's early days of studying in Australia, he was fond of wearing a designer suit, a hat, and a smoking pipe instead of baju melayu and songkok (traditional Malay attire). Taib later had to tone his western image down to a traditional one in order to keep in touch with his people. Taib also developed an interest in Malay literature and pantuns (Malay poetry). He was also known for being a loyal fan of P. Ramlee, a famous Malaysian singer, actor and director.[16] Taib would occasionally sing a number of P. Ramlee songs in official functions. He would later become a patron of P. Ramlee singing contest in Kuching, Sarawak. Taib also played a major role in Bangsawan, a traditional Malay opera.[14] Taib Mahmud has written and published several Islamic books and other works including "Muhammad and His Mission, Islam and Utility of Mankind", "Freedom of Thought of Islam" and "Appropriate Strategy for Developing Countries in a Period of Resource Scarcity".[23]

In April 2010, he received an honorary doctorate in Leadership from the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology and is recognised as the "Architect of Modern Sarawak" or "Father of Modern Sarawak" by the university.[101]

In July 2010, Taib was presented with the "Lifetime achievement" by Asia HRD Congress to commemorate his contributions towards developing the human capital in Sarawak especially for the establishment of University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).[102]

In December 2001, he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia, "for service to Australian-Malaysian bilateral relations".[103]

Taib also received honorary degrees from a number of universities, i.e. a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Putra Malaysia (Seri Kembangan, Malaysia) in 1992,[104] a Doctor of the University degree from the University of Adelaide (North Terrace, Australia) in 1994,[105] and a Doctor of Technology degree from Curtin University of Technology (Bentley, Western Australia) in 2000.[106] Furthermore, in 1998, Taib was made the Honorary Fellow of Islamic Academy of Sciences at the Islamic Academy of Sciences (Amman, Jordan).[20]