THE late Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s legacy laid the foundation for Sarawak’s progress, greatly contributing to its development and paving the way for a brighter future under the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government.
Wilfred Yap Yau Sin (GPS-Kota Sentosa) said that in an extraordinary span of 51 years of government service, both at the federal and later as Chief Minister of Sarawak from 1981 to 2014, the Taib turned Sarawak into one of the most politically stable and economically viable regions in Malaysia.
“As chief minister, the late Taib was able to implement projects that brought maximum development to Sarawak through his ‘Politics of Development’ which also formed the basis of COME – Change, Opportunity, Mobility and Equality for all Sarawakians.
“His holistic approach in balancing the whole spectrum of socio-economic development involved the whole strata of society,” he said.
Yap was debating in support of the motion of appreciation to the former TYT today.
He said the Taib’s achievements included establishing the Bintulu Development Authority for oil and gas resources, creating new administrative divisions like Samarahan, Mukah, and Betong, founding universities like Universiti Teknologi Sarawak, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak campus, and Curtin University.
He also played a key role in establishing Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Sarawak’s first public university.
“There are numerous other training institutes and colleges which the late Taib helped to set up to train Sarawakians in various fields which went a long way in uplifting the living standards of the people.
“The late Taib also established many industrial parks such as Samajaya Industrial Park, Demak Jaya Industrial Park, Samalaju Industrial Park and Tanjung Manis Industrial Park which created job opportunities and employment over the years,” he said.
Yap said that under Taib, the Regional Corridor Development Authority (RECODA) was established to harness Sarawak’s huge hydroelectric power (HEP) potential.
“Through RECODA, the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) was also established to implement HEP projects throughout Sarawak, HEP dams such as Batang Ai, Bakun and Murum were built. Currently Baleh HEP is under construction and is expected to be completed by 2027,” he said.
Yap said the immense and vast contributions to the development and progress of Sarawak under the exemplary leadership of the late Tun Taib should not be forgotten.
“Tun, the seventh governor, laid the strong foundation to enable Sarawak to achieve developed status by 2030 under Post-Covid Development Strategy 2030. Sarawak has lost an illustrious son but his legacy lives on. I fully support the motion,” he said.
