Sarawak CM Tan Sri Adenan Satem has passed away

KUCHING, 11 Jan 2017:

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem died today, 16 days before his 73rd birthday.

His niece Haslinda Hamzah confirmed that Adenan died at 1.20pm at the Sarawak Heart Centre in Kota Samarahan here.

The cause of death has yet to be announced but Adenan had a history of heart problems.

In an interview before the Sarawak state election last year, Adenan said he almost died three years earlier because of a heart ailment.

Adenan succeeded Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud as Chief Minister on 28 Feb 2014.

He continued as Sarawak’s fifth Chief Minister after leading Barisan Nasional to a landslide victory in the 11th state polls on 7 May 2016.

Adenan leaves a wife, Puan Seri Jamilah Anu, four daughters and one son.

Born in 1944 di Kuching, Sarawak, Adenan received his early education at Sekolah St Joseph, also in Kuching, before studying law at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

Starting his career as a magistrate in Kuching in 1970, Adenan eventually joined politics where he became Sarawak Land Development Assistant Minister for two years until 1987.

He was made Natural Resources and Environment Minister at the federal level in 2004. However, he returned to Sarawak in 2006.

His career path towards becoming chief minister began in 2010 when he was appointed as Special Advisor to the Chief Minister before becoming Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office and later in 2011, as Minister with Special Functions, mainly handling land-related issues.

As a political figure who had served well and contributed much to Sarawak’s development, Adenan was conferred with several federal and state awards, including the Darjah Panglima Setia Mahkota, which carries the title ‘Tan Sri”, besides the Pingat Perkhidmatan Bakti Negeri Sarawak and Johan Bintang Sarawak (1986).

In his speech in Kota Samarahan last April, Adenan had said: “As someone who has held many important positions in government before being appointed as Chief Minister, I am not crazy about positions.

“What I want is to see that the standard of living of the people continues to be raised. Please see what have been done throughout the two years since I was appointed as Chief Minister.”