KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — It is never easy losing a good friend, let alone to accept his sudden departure, especially if the individual was a mentor and a political partner who had contributed significantly in developing a parliamentary constituency together.
That would probably best describe how Kapit Member of Parliament, Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, was feeling, who still could not contain his grief when asked about the late Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister, Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing, who passed away last Sunday.
“I don’t want to forget his good deeds, especially in Kapit, as well as as a Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister, and as the Baleh assemblyman. We will ensure the projects he had planned for Kapit become a reality, and we will help realise it,” he said in an interview with Bernama
The late Masing, 72, was the Baleh assemblyman since 1983. He passed away at the Normah Sarawak Medical Centre (NSMC) in Petra Jaya, Kuching, at 7.05 am.
A wake was held for the late Masing before he was laid to rest at the Nirvana Memorial Park Kuching, today.
Nanta said that, under their partnership, with the late Masing as the chairman and Nanta as his deputy at the Ulu Rajang Development Agency (URDA), Nanta recalled that the development of Kapit would always crop up in their discussions and apart from regular engagement sessions.
Nanta, who is also the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, said that the construction of the Bukit Mabung STOLport (short take-off and landing airport), for example, was the late Masing’s brainchild, which among others was aimed at helping rural farmers to market their agricultural products outside by air transportation.
The late Masing, who was a formidable figure in the Dayak community, had also reminded Nanta about how he was never forgotten in the planning of infrastructure or social development by the late Masing.
For example, when Nanta was invited to join an official visit to New Zealand in 2015 to understand matters related to the indigenous peoples (the Maoris) in the country.
“He said we needed to take notes and learn how the Maoris won back their rights. Masing had said that we, the Dayak community, can learn how to fight and what are our rights,” he said.
The same happened in 2019 when the late Masing invited Nanta to see the development of Lake Como in Italy, that perhaps could be used as an inspiration, since Sarawak has the Bakun dam located in the upper basin of the Sungai Rajang across Sungai Balui, 37 kilometres from Belaga.
Nanta also said that the late Masing was a vocal leader, particularly in matters related to the rights and priorities of the Dayak community. He would also fight for issues affecting rural areas including education.
“The late Masing came from a rural area. That is why he would say let us help the youths so that they are given opportunities. This I will never forget and I will remember this as long as I live,” he said.
Among Masing’s traits as a leader are that he was well-liked by the people, not arrogant, deeply concerned about the welfare of the people, and even his career in politics could be emulated by other leaders, said Nanta.
