MOHAMAD Asfia Awang Nassar, who is Sarawak assembly speaker, has been named acting governor as Abdul Taib Mahmud recuperates from surgery upon his return from Turkey.

Sworn in at 4pm today in Kuching, this will be the Asfia’s second stint as acting governor.

He assumed the position from December 1, 2019, to January 11, 2020, when Taib took his year-end leave.

The lawyer-turned-politician, 75, was Kuala Rajang assemblyman from 1979 to 1983, and Serdeng (formerly Semop) representative from 1991 to 2011.

Asfia read law at Leeds University in England and became Barrister-at-Law at the Inner Temple, London. He was called to the English Bar in 1974 and the Bar of Borneo in 1976.

Asfia was appointed speaker on November 15, 2000.

On August 1, the Sarawak government said there was no need to appoint an acting governor while Taib was ill. Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Office Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said though the 87-year-old Taib fell ill abroad, he was still able to discharge his official and constitutional duties.


Hasidah said Taib was “in communication with the state government”.

She said the government is regularly informed of Taib’s medical condition and “the state government’s further action will be guided by the state constitution and the interests of the state”.

Taib’s health has been widely speculated about on social media, with some claiming he had died, leading the Astana to lodge police reports against them.

Taib is the state’s seventh governor and has been in office since March 2014. – August 17, 2023.