PETALING JAYA: A former federal minister tonight paid tribute to Abdul Taib Mahmud who died early this morning, describing him as a “very forward-looking” leader.
Rafidah Aziz told FMT she was very sad to hear of the former Sarawak governor’s death.
The former international trade and industry minister said she was appointed by Taib as an adviser to Sarawak’s Regional Corridor Development Authority – a post she still holds – when he was the state’s chief minister.
Taib was Sarawak’s longest-serving chief minister, heading the state government for 33 years from 1981 to 2014.
“He was very forward-looking when it came to developing policies and initiatives. He was truly a towering Sarawakian and Malaysian.”
Former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman described Taib as a “true statesman and a farsighted leader”.
Musa said Taib took Sarawak out of the backwaters and turned it into a progressive and economically vibrant state.
Taib’s efforts spurred the state’s socio-economic development and elevated its people’s standard of living, Musa said.
Musa said he had the opportunity to work closely with Taib during his tenure as Sabah’s 14th chief minister from 2003 to 2018.
“He was a very focused and experienced leader who not only developed Sarawak but succeeded in uniting the multiethnic and religiously diverse communities in the state,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Clare Rewcastle Brown, a prominent critic of Taib, said the globally significant and unique biodiversity of the world’s oldest rainforest in Sarawak was replaced under his watch by “unremitting monoculture plantations of imported foreign oil palm and acacia”.
“It left local populations of plants, animals and people to die away.”
Taib died at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur at 4.40am. He was 87. - FMT
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