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Abdul Taib Mahmud

Abdul Taib Mahmud (21 May 1936-21 February 2024) was the Chief Minister of Sarawak from 26 March 1981 to 28 February 2014 (succeeding Abdul Rahman Ya'kub and preceding Adenan Satem) and Governor of Sarawak from 1 March 2014 to 26 January 2014 (succeeding Abang Muhammad Salahuddin and preceding Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar).

Biography[]

Abdul Taib Mahmud was born in Miri, Raj of Sarawak in 1936, and he served as a prosecutor before becoming Sarawak's Minister of Communications and Public Works in 1963. He became vice chairman of the BERJASA party in 1964 and a Parti Bumiputera Sarawak MP for Kota Samarahan in 1970. After serving in several ministerial positions, he returned to Sarawak in 1981 and became its chief minister. Abdul Taib dominated Sarawak politics for decades, being nicknamed Pak Uban ("White-haired Uncle") and reducing the state's poverty rate from 70% to single-digit figures; however, he was accused of corruption and personal gain from Sarawak's abundant natural resources. In 2008, he relinquished his role as MP after nearly four decades in Parliament, and he stepped down as Chief Minister in 2014. However, he was appointed as Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of Sarawak in 2014, and he died in 2024 at the age of 87.

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