the latter was an aristocrat that was linked to the Royal Court of Brunei. However, Taib had an impoverished life because his father worked as a carpenter for Shell Oil Company. Taib's uncle, Abdul Rahman Ya'kub raised Taib since he was a boy. Taib was five years old when the Japanese army landed in Miri in 1941. Taib's father, considering his family's safety from Japanese occupation, decided to move his family to his ancestral village in Mukah. After the war ended, the family returned to Miri. Taib undertook his early schooling at Andi Malay School and later St Joseph's Primary School in Miri. Taib later won a Shell scholarship to study at St. Joseph's Secondary School in Kuching with the help of his uncle, Abdul Rahman who was also a Probationary Native Officer in Miri. There, Taib met George Chan Hong Nam who would later become the deputy chief minister of Sarawak and Bujang bin Mohammed Nor who would later become Sarawak state secretary under the Taib's chieftainship. After school, Taib Mahmud planned to become a doctor but he was persuaded by Abdul Rahman to take up law. According to Taib: In 1958, his excellent performance in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) examination earned him a Colombo Plan scholarship, allowing Taib to further his studies at the University of Adelaide in South Australia. He graduated with Bachelor of Laws degree from the university in 1960. After graduation, he was appointed as an associate to Justice Sir Herbert Mayo of the Supreme Court of South Australia. After the demise of his father, Taib took up the responsibility to look after his siblings and to discipline his siblings in studies and in looking after the household. Taib Mahmud pursued his postgraduate studies at Harvard International Summer Course in 1964. Early political career On returning to Sarawak, Taib worked in the Crown Council from 1962 to 1963. He was then persuaded by his uncle to take part in the formation of Barisan Ra'ayat Jati Sarawak (BARJASA) party. Taib resigned from Crown Council and assumed the post of vice-chairman of BARJASA in 1963. In the 1963 local council elections, Taib's BARJASA party won only 44 out of 429 seats. Taib's uncle was defeated in the election. Sarawak National Party (SNAP) became a majority party with Stephen Kalong Ningkan as the state's first chief minister. However, Taib was able to join the Council Negri of