PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says Malaysia, especially Sarawak, lost a respected statesman with the death of its longest serving chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud, earlier today.
“On behalf of the administration of the Madani government, I extend our condolences to the family of the late Tun (Taib) and the people of Sarawak.
“We, and especially the people of Sarawak, have truly lost a respected statesman,” he said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Anwar also said Taib’s service and dedication to the country and the state of Sarawak would always be remembered.
Taib died at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur at about 4.40am. His body was taken to the National Mosque this morning and will be flown to Kuching where it will be brought to his home in Demak Jaya.
Taib was the longest serving head of a state government in Malaysia, heading the Sarawak government for 33 years from 1981 to 2014.
He was the country’s second-longest serving MP, serving Kota Samarahan for 38 years from 1970 to 2008.
He also served as Sarawak governor from 2014 until late last month.
Taib is widely credited with developing the state through numerous infrastructure projects. In January, he was described by Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg as the “father of modern Sarawak”.
