KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud is expected to announce that he will step down as the head of the state government soon.
Taib, who has held the chief minister's post for 33 years, is likely to announce his retirement from politics.
A source told Berita Harian, that the state's fourth chief minister, who is also Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu president, would announce his decision to retire at Barisan Nasional component party's central working committee meeting on Saturday.
Taib, who just returned from performing his umrah (minor pilgrimage) last week, is expected to hold a special meeting with BN members of parliament and assemblymen on Sunday. However, it has not been determined whether Taib will make the announcement at both meetings or wait for a date predicted to be before the end of the month.
The question is, who would replace the veteran politician, as another source has revealed that Taib has handpicked his successor.
Another question mark is whether Taib will be appointed as the new Yang Dipertua Negeri Sarawak. This is because Yang Dipertua Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng, 93, will end his service at the end of this month.
Heading the list of possible chief minister candidates is Minister in the Chief Minister's Office Tan Sri Adenan Satem, who joined Taib, his wife and the Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Juanda Jaya, who is from Sarawak, for the umrah. Other candidates include state Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg and Second Minister for Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
Taib had mentioned his desire to resign from politics at the 2011 state election and declared that it would be his last election. Speculation on his position began when the Yang-Dipertua term was extended to Feb 28.
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