AMID rumours of ill health surrounding Sarawak Yang di-Pertua Negeri Abdul Taib Mahmud, the Astana Negeri took the unusual step to issue a statement assuring the residents of the state that the 87-year-old is “well and in good health”.

The statement from the governor’s official residence came following unverified reports on Taib’s health.

“We would like to assure that all viral and unverified news, which are not from Astana Negeri Sarawak regarding the well-being of Tun (Taib) in social media platforms, are completely fake and untrue,” the three-paragraph statement, signed by Taib’s private secretary, Junih Salleh Ahmad, stated.

“We hope with this press statement, all adverse reports and rumours regarding Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud would be put to rest.”

Taib, who was also chief minister for 33 years – from March 1981 to February 2014 – was appointed the state’s seventh governor in March 2014. – June 22, 2023.