Taib salutes when the national anthem is played. At right is Abang Johari.
BINTULU: Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, the last surviving member of the cabinet formed during self-government in 1963, and former chief minister, has devoted much of his life to the service of the people.
Speaking at the state-level National Day celebration at the civic centre here yesterday, Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said Taib was a leader and a statesman who has put Sarawak on a firm footing to be a progressive modern economy. Taib and his wife Datuk Patinggi Toh Puan Ragad Kurdi Taib were guests of-honour at the celebration.
“Your tenure as Sarawak’s chief executive until February 2014 has resulted in the emergence of modern Sarawak,” he added.
Taib served at the federal cabinet for a good number of years before he came back to Sarawak as its fourth chief minister in March 1981. During Sarawak’s formative years at the time of the previous chief ministers – Stephen Kalong Ningkan, Penghulu Tawi Seli and Tun Rahman – they were preoccupied with the task of stabilising Sarawak’s politics and making it safe from inside and outside threat. Abang Johari said Taib’s era was one that was devoted to using political stability and unity to develop Sarawak into a modern economy.
Abang Johari added: “The politics of development that Tun introduced has been our development philosophy. It has considerably reduced politicking, which if left unchecked, would hamper the smooth process of the state’s development.
“Unity was further forged with the concept of the confluence of rivers where our diverse social structure was likened to the many small rivers and tributaries that poured their waters into a main river, where waters of various colours are blended into a single colour before flowing into the sea.”
He added that Taib’s era as chief minister was capped with the implementation of well-thought-out plan to industrialise Sarawak through the implementation of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).
Abang Johari said SCORE has become a turning point in Sarawak’s economic and industrial development which saw the emergence of large foreign investors and the creation of thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities.
“SCORE has made it possible for Sarawak to exploit its renewable energy potentials and develop new sources of wealth to enhance Sarawak’s economic status,” he said.