Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud's wife Laila Taib passed away today after succumbing to terminal cancer. The Australian-born Laila was 68.

It is learnt that she died at the chief minister's official residence in Demak Laut, Kuching, at 3.45pm.

Her husband was away at the state administrative district of Petrajaya with visiting Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin when she died.

Muhyiddin is in Kuching to attend a thanksgiving dinner given by PRS president Dr James Masing tonight to celebrate the BN victory in the recent Batang Ai by-election.

An official at the CM's office confirmed Laila's death when contacted by Malaysiakini . She will be laid to rest at the Demak Muslim Cemetery tomorrow at 11am.

laila taib mahmud sulaiman taib 290409 Taib and Laila ( far right in photo ) celebrated their 50 th wedding anniversary on Jan 13.

During the celebration Taib said his wife was his pillar of strength and source of inspiration.

He said that she had stood by him through the thick and thin throughout his career as a politician while her patience enabled her to put up with his temperament.

"I must acknowledge that it is not easy for any woman to be a politician's wife. Laila has played a major part in making my life very bearable," he added.

They have four children - Jamilah, the eldest, followed by Mahmud Abu Bekir, Sulaiman and Hanifah.

Sulaiman is deputy tourism minister and the other three children are all in the corporate world.

Key owner of conglomerate CMS

The Taib Mahmud family is considered as one of the richest families in Malaysia.

taib mahmud�s family in cahya mata sarawak shares 100907 Laila and her four children own more than 50 percent of the public-listed family-controlled flagship company Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS), which controls several major businesses in the state.

CMS is headed by Taib's sons, with Laila holding a sizable stake.

Laila's maiden name was Lejla Chaleki, a Polish-Russian descent whose family emigrated to Australia.

She met and married Taib in Australia where he was studying law at the University of Adelaide in the late 1950s.

When Taib returned to Sarawak in the early 1960s and worked for the government as a crown counsel, Laila followed him.

She was active in the Sarawak Women's Institute and was involved in issues concerning women's affairs.

Taib was later appointed a senator and became a deputy minister at the federal level until his return to Sarawak in 1981 when he took over as chief minister from his uncle, Abdul Rahman Yakub.

Taib, who has been chief minister in Sarawak for 27 years, filed a law suit two years ago against Malaysiakini over a report on alleged timber kickbacks paid by Japanese shippers to a company in Hong Kong said to be linked to Taib’s family. The case is still being heard in the High Court.