Rahman Yakub, 87, dies

By Simon Peter

KUCHING, Jan 10, 2015: Former Governor Tun Rahman Yakub died last night, his son-in-law Justine Jinggut confirmed.

He died about 9.40pm at the Normah Medical Specialist Centre where he had been receiving treatment since October last year.

Tun Rahman Yakub died at the age 87

His wife Toh Puan Siti Maemunah and other family members were at the bedside when Rahman, who was on life support system over the last few days, breathed his last. 

Rahman was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of NMSC on Nov 5 after complaining of breathing difficulty.

Rahman, 87, was Sarawak's fourth Governor, holding the post for a term from April 2, 1981 to April 2, 1985.

Before his appointment as the Governor, he was Sarawak's third Chief Minister, holding the post from July 7, 1970 to March 26, 1981.

He was succeeded by his nephew Abdul Taib Mahmud as chief minister.

He was the third Chief Minister of Sarawak and the fourth Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak (Governor of Sarawak). He was also an uncle of current Governor  Abdul Taib Mahmud, who was also the fourth Chief Minister of Sarawak.

Rahman's first wife, Toh Puan Normah died in 1984. He later married Siti Maemunah.

One of his daughters, Khadijah, married to former Prime Minister the late Tun Abdul Razak's son,  Mohd Nizam, the younger brother of current Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Uncle-nephew family dispute came to an end when Rahman celebrated his 80th birthday in 2008.

Norah, who is also her daughter, is a Malaysian Member of Parliament for the Tanjung Manis constituency.

Rahman was very active in sports during his school days, especially football (soccer). In the later years of his life he also enjoyed playing golf.

Rahman was a very religious man and loved reading religious books on Islam. He even conducted free-religious classes for the public after leaving active politics in 1985.

Rahman was born in the village of Kampung Jepak, Bintulu, Sarawak to a fisherman by the name of Tuan Wan Ya'kub bin Wan Yusuf and Siti Hajar binti Haji Mohd.

He first attended a Malay school and then the Sekolah Anchi in Miri. His father, who wished that Rahman be given an Islamic education, attempted to send him to the Al-Juned Arabic School in 1939, a decision that was opposed by his mother due to the outbreak of World War II.

He then transferred to St. Joseph Miri, but his studies was cut short by the Japanese invasion.

 At a young age, he learnt the Japanese martial art Aikido and was able to also meet Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido.

He worked as an oil-tester for the Sarawak Shell Company and a school teacher before being accepted as a Native Officer in the Sarawak Civil Service in 1948.

He graduated from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom as a trained lawyer and worked as the Deputy Public Prosecutor in the Sarawak Legal Department from 1959 to 1963.

He was the first Bumiputera from Sarawak that graduated as a lawyer in 1958 from Lincoln's Inn.

Rahman (seated, left) and Bong Kee Chok signed a peace agreement in 1973 to mark the end of the communist insurgency in Sarawak

The first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman brought Rahman into politics while the second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak mentor him.

Rahman was the deputy Lands and Mines Minister in the 1960s.

He was one of the people who proposed that Malaysia should create their own oil company, now known is Petronas. Rahman also founded the now defunct Bank Utama Berhad in Malaysia.

He was an education minister before he returned to Sarawak to become the chief minister in 1970.

He made a bold move by changing the medium of instruction for all the schools and higher learning institutions from English to the Malay language.

 He was also credited for the creation of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in 1970. He also did away with primary six common entrance examination, so that all the primary six students will be able to continue with their secondary education.

He won the Kuala Rajang state constituency during the resumption of 1969 state election in 1970, representing Parti Bumiputera Sarawak, which was part of the Sarawak Alliance.

After the election, there was not any party holding a clear majority. However, he was able to convince SUPP to form a coalition government with him as the chief minister.

He was called by Tun Abdul Razak to tackle the communist insurgency in Sarawak.

Rahman played a leading role in the fight against the communist terrorists, leading to the signing of Peace Agreement in 1974.

Peace was restored in Sarawak when Bong Kee Chok, the former leader of Parti Rakyat Kalimantan Utara, together with 482 communist guerillas surrendered their arms in 1974 after the Sri Aman Operation initiated by Rahman.

Rahman  set up the Sarawak foundation to provide scholarships and educational loans for the needy students.

He also established several statutory bodies including State Planning Unit in order to speed up the development in Sarawak.

Five administrative divisions in Sarawak has been increased to seven under his tenure of office. A bridge built in May 1975 which connects the two administrative divisions, namely Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara (DBKU) and Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan (MBKS) was named after him. 

 Rahman quit as chief minister after undergoing heart surgery in London in 1981.

In 1981, he resigned his post as the Chief Minister and became the Governor of Sarawak. He left his chief minister post to his nephew.

He later quit his post as the governor of Sarawak in 1985 due to "health reasons."

Towards the end of his term as Governor, he had a major political and personal disagreement with Taib, leading to the 1987 constitutional crisis when 28 out of 48 State lawmakers gave their support to Rahman.

The Rahman-Taib political dispute started in 1985, many claimed it was over the control of timber industry.

In 1987, Rahman formed a new party named Parti Persatuan Rakyat Malaysia Sarawak (PERMAS) in order to challenge Taib Mahmud at the polls.

 He also formed an alliance with Sarawak Dayak People's Party (PBDS) in order to unseat Taib. In March 1987, 28 of the 48 state assemblymen suddenly directed their support to Rahman  while calling Taib Mahmud to resign as a chief minister.

Among the defectors were Taib's four cabinet ministers and three assistant ministers. A war of accusations on timber concessionaires then broke out between Rahman and Taib.

Taib revoked 30 timber licenses held by his defectors and Rahman's clients.

Taib then accused Rahman for awarding 1.25 million hectares of logging concessions worth RM 22.5 billion to Rahman himself and his relatives.

Rahman,, in return, revealed a list of timber concessions covering 1.6 million hectares held by Taib's clients and family.

 Despite the unsuccessful attempt at the 1987 Sarawak state election, Rahman continued his struggle with his allies, PBDS against Taib's led Sarawak Barisan Nasional until 1991 Sarawak state election when Taib's coalition won an overwhelming majority of 49 out of 56 seats in the state assembly.

The uncle-nephew quarrel came to an end when Rahman celebrated his 80th birthday in 2008.

During the grand ceremony, he hugged Taib, marking the end of the 20-year-old strained relationship between an uncle and a nephew.

Rahman later told reporters that he already stitched up his relationship with Taib because "blood is thicker than water".