Taib Praised For Immense Knowledge, Critical Thoughts

KUCHING: Former Chief Minister and current Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud has been praised for being a man of immense knowledge and critical thoughts.

Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem said Taib has great wisdom and imagination.

“Talking to him is an education by itself. He is a man who tries to help this country, develop this country. He saw suffering and tried to heal it; he saw disharmony and tried to heal it too; he tried a way to make his contributions to welfare too.

“When one day he leaves, which ultimately everybody does, he would have left the country a better place than what it was when he first came in. That is the legacy of Taib,” Adenan said when launching the book ‘Taib — The Visionary’ on Thursday.

He said five decades ago, Sarawak was poor and backward, stressing that the state would not be what it is today without Taib’s dedication and far-sightedness.

“He is the leader who dragged us into the 21st century, willing or unwilling. I’ve known him for half a century,” he said, jesting: “I am a mere mortal; he is immortal”, referring to Taib’s major contributions to the state and country.

“He is a beacon of light for the people of Sarawak. He has the wisdom of Tunku, the dedication of Razak, the sincerity of Hussein Onn, the inventiveness of Mahathir, the patience and passion of Abdullah and the determination of Najib. And the play of P Ramlee.”

Adenan also used a quote by former US president Theodore Roosevelt to refer to Taib: “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Meanwhile, book author Siva Kumar G suggested the state set up the Taib Foundation to institutionalise Taib’s strategic thinking.

“It will be a think tank to uphold the vision and legacy of Tun Taib. The foundation will also organise seminars at state, national and international levels besides being in the position to award scholarships to young brilliant individuals,” he said.

He added that the book will be translated into Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese. -BP