Abdul Taib Mahmud family, wife, children, parents, siblings

Abdul Taib bin Mahmud was best known as a Malaysian politician who served as the seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak from March 2014 to January 2024 and the fourth Chief Minister of Sarawak from March 1981 to February 2014. He is referred to as the Father of Modern Sarawak.

Abdul Taib Mahmud wife

Abdul Taib Mahmud was married twice in his life. He married 18-year-old Laila Taib, a Polish Muslim of Lipka Tatar origin, at South Australia’s Adelaide mosque on 13 January 1959. On 29 April 2009, Taib’s wife Laila died of cancer. She was buried at the Demak Jaya cemetery in Kuching the following day.

On December 18, 2010, at the age of 74, he married again for the second time to Ragad Waleed Alkurdi, a Syrian-born woman and widow in her early 30s; however, the wedding ceremony was held in private, attended only by his family members and 200 guests.

On January 8, 2011, he was seen together with his new wife, attending a wedding reception of a former MP in Kuala Lumpur. Both held a wedding reception sometime in the middle of January, and the reception was held at the New Sarawak State Legislative Building Complex.

Abdul Taib Mahmud’s children

Abdul Taib Mahmud has four children namely Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib, Hanifah Hajar Taib, Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, and Jamilah Taib Murray.

Abdul Taib Mahmud parents

Abdul Taib Mahmud was born on May 21, 1936, at Kampung Sungei Merbau, Miri, Sarawak. He was the eldest child of Mahmud bin Haji Abang Yahya his father and Hajjah Hamidah binti Yakub his mother ten children.

Abdul Taib Mahmud’s father was a descendant of Pehin Datu Yahya Setia Raja, where the latter was an aristocrat who was linked to the Royal Court of Brunei. However, he had an impoverished life because his father worked as a carpenter for Shell Oil Company. His uncle, Abdul Rahman Ya’kub raised Taib from the time when he was a boy.

Abdul Taib Mahmud siblings

Abdul Taib Mahmud has nine siblings namely Ibrahim, Onn, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Arip, Mohammad Tufail, Aisah Zainab, Roziah, Faridah Hanon, and Zaleha.