Tan Sri The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines. Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...

Datuk Amar

Dr. Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

James Jemut Masing (5 March 1949 – 31 October 2021) was a

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as the

Deputy Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

, State Minister of Infrastructure and Ports Development of

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

under Chief Ministers

Adenan Satem Pehin Sri Tan Sri Haji Adenan bin Haji Satem ( ms, حاج عدنان بن حاج صتيم , label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 27 January 1944 – 11 January 2017), popularly known as Tok Nan, was a Malaysian politician who served as the ...

and

Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Abang Haji Openg ( Jawi: ابڠ عبد الرحمن جوهري بن ابڠ اوڤيڠ; born 4 August 1950), familiarly known as Abang Jo or Abang Johari, is a Malaysian politician who has served as Premier of ...

as well as Member of the

Sarawak State Legislative Assembly The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is the legislative chamber of the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Sarawak; the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak forms the other part of the legislature. The Assembly is modelled after the ...

(MLA) for Baleh from May 2016, January 2017 and December 1983 to his death in October 2021 respectively. He was a member of the Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) and later

Parti Rakyat Sarawak The ''Parti Rakyat Sarawak'' or PRS (English: Sarawak Peoples' Party) is a multiracialism & nationalism political party in Sarawak, and Malaysia at all. The party was founded in the wake of the de-registration of the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawa ...

(PRS), a component party of the ruling

Gabungan Parti Sarawak The Sarawak Parties Alliance (Malay: ''Gabungan Parti Sarawak''; abbrev: GPS) is a Sarawak-based national political alliance in Malaysia. It was established in 2018 by four former Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties operating solely in Sa ...

(GPS) coalition. He also served as President of PRS from its founding in March 2004 to his death in October 2021.

Background

Masing born on 5 March 1949 at Baleh,

Kapit Kapit is a town and the capital of Kapit District in Kapit Division, Sarawak, Malaysia on the south bank of the Rajang River. The district comprises 15,595.6 square kilometres and as of 2020 has a population of 65,800. Kapit is accessible by b ...

, was an ethnic

Iban IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to: Banking * International Bank Account Number Ethnology * Iban culture * Iban language * Iban people Given name Cycling * Iban Iriondo (born 1984) * Iban Mayo (born 1977) * Iban Mayoz (born 1981) Football * ...

and a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Masing had studied and graduated with B.A. in Education in 1975 from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

, New Zealand under the Colombo Plan Scholarship. He also received both his M.A. in 1978 and Ph.D. in

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

in 1981 from

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

, the first Iban to achieve that.

Political career

Masing started his political career when he joined and climbed to be the Vice-President of the now defunct

Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak The Sarawak Native People's Party or ms, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) was a political party in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It was established in 1983, by Datuk Amar Leo Moggie Irok, after seceding from Sarawak National Party (SNAP) f ...

(PBDS) before becoming the co-founding and 1st President of the

Sarawak Peoples' Party The ''Parti Rakyat Sarawak'' or PRS (English: Sarawak Peoples' Party) is a multiracialism & nationalism political party in Sarawak, and Malaysia at all. The party was founded in the wake of the de-registration of the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawa ...

or ''Parti Rakyat Sarawak'' (PRS) since 2004 until 2021. Even though he never became a federal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP), Masing had served for eight consecutive terms as MLA for Baleh under the two parties from 1983 to 2021. He also rose to be the Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak from 2016 to his death in 2021. He could have contested and perhaps have defended the Baleh seat for the ninth consecutive time if not because of the deferment of a supposedly earlier

2021 Sarawak state election The 2021 Sarawak state election, formally the 12th Sarawak general election, took place on 18 December 2021. This election was to elect 82 members of the 19th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly. The previous assembly was dissolved on 3 November ...

due to 2021 state of emergencies, arising from the 2020–21 political crisis and the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, as well as his untimely death.

Controversies

Masing's reported political persecution of disabled Dayaks and his admission that he and his deputy sought inducements for Native Customary Lands (NCR) exploitation for plantations in 2012. He had also benefited from lucrative Belian timber concessions, huge state contracts, plantation licences on NCR, a partnership with an international oil company and a prized car dealership licence. The Forest Department's information reveals the timber concessions in the Baram were handed out to key political associates of state

Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...

(BN) including Governor

Abdul Taib Mahmud Abdul Taib bin Mahmud ( Jawi: عبدالطيب بن محمود; born 21 May 1936) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak since March 2014. He served as the 4th Chief Minister of Sarawak for 33 years ...

, local Baram MP,

Jacob Dungau Sagan Dato Jacob Dungau Sagan (born 26 September 1946) was the Member of Parliament of Malaysia for Baram, Sarawak, from 1995 to 2013. Personal life Jacob was born in Long Anap, Ulu Baram, Sarawak. He is of the Kenyah tribe from the Orang Ulu e ...

and even his wife Corinne Masing was one of the beneficiaries. His extravangant wealth and luxury mansion had also led to the corruption suspicions as well as allegations. Masing who was Sarawak's Land Development Minister then, had been blamed for not protecting the NCR lands where Dayak natives who have been residing, carrying out agriculture and traditional living activities in a particular NCR region for generations, which they are granted such NCR lands ownership, albeit the land legally belongs to the state and without a physical individual title. In 2013,

Sarawak Workers Party Parti Bangsa Malaysia (English: ''Malaysian Nation Party'', abbreviated PBM), is a registered centre-right political party in Malaysia. The party was founded as the Sarawak Workers Party before being handed over in November 2021. The party is c ...

(SWP) reproached, had urged all Dayaks to accept an announcement of a RM30 million fund by the Prime Minister for NCR land perimeter survey under Section 6 of the State Land Code exercise which would keep the NCR as communal reserves land. In 2020 again, Gabungan Anak Sarawak (GASAK) rebuked Masing over the sale of NCR land in Sarawak and comments the natives would become landless if their NCR lands are being surveyed under Section 18 of the State Land Code which instead will allow individual Dayaks owners to have individual titles, rights and authority over that NCR land. Masing was told not to treat the Dayaks as second class Bumiputera and stop making them only ordinary farmers, when he should have been leading the community towards prosperity rather than taking care of the interests of the cronies and the state government under

(GPS).

Personal life

He was first married to Fiona Frances Masing née Henderson in 1977, but they had divorced in 1989. Together the couple have two daughters, Dr Anna Sulan Masing born in 1981 and Rachel Lian Masing in 1983. He married again for the second time in 1992 to Corrine Masing née Bua Nyipa, also known as Connie with whom he had three more children; Karen Julan Masing, Ashley Layo Masing and Emma Maria Masing.

Death

On 28 September 2021, fully vaccinated Masing tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of

Sarawak General Hospital Sarawak General Hospital (Malay: ''Hospital Umum Sarawak'') is the largest hospital in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is the main tertiary and referral hospital in East Malaysia. In its earlier years it was known as Kuching General Hospita ...

(SGH). He was later transferred to Normah Sarawak Medical Centre (NSMC) in Petra Jaya after his condition deteriorated from Stage 3 to Stage 5, where he succumbed to various complications at 7.05 a.m., on 31 October at the age of 72. Further COVID-19 screening test result conducted on his body reported that he died of post-COVID heart conditions. His remains were brought to his residence at Jalan Ong Tiang Swee for

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

, service and wake arrangement according to the

standard operating procedure (SOP). On 3 November, the remains were transferred to the Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS), Jalan Stampin as a ceremony held at Christian Ecumenical Worship Centre for the public to pay their last respects to the late politician. Among the dignitaries present were Chief Minister

Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Abang Openg Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Abang Haji Openg ( Jawi: ابڠ عبد الرحمن جوهري بن ابڠ اوڤيڠ; born 4 August 1950), familiarly known as Abang Jo or Abang Johari, is a Malaysian politician who has served as Premier of ...

and his deputy

Douglas Uggah Embas Douglas Uggah Embas (born 28 July 1956) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Deputy Premier of Sarawak since 2016. He has been Member of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Bukit Saban since 2016, having previously been Me ...

. Masing's remains and coffin was later taken to the Nirvana Memorial Park in Siniawan, Kuching-Bau Road for the

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...

whereas a short Christian funeral service in Iban was held before burial and being laid to rest.

Election results

, , Lucius Jimbon (SNAP) , 528 , 9.01% , 5,956 , 4,802 , 61.20% , - ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , , James Jemut Masing ( PRS) , 5,242 , 79.59% , , , Bendindang Manjah ( PKR) , 1,344 , 20.41% , 6,684 , 3,898 , 59.22% , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , , James Jemut Masing ( PRS) , 5,272 , 91.67% , , , Agop Linsong (

DAP DAP or Dap may refer to: Science * DAP (gene), human gene that encodes death-associated proteins, which mediate programmed cell death * Diamidophosphate, phosphorylating compound * Diaminopimelic acid, amino acid derivative of lysine * Diamin ...

) , 479 , 8.33% , 5,820 , 4,793 , 60.47%

Honours

Awards and recognitions

* Guinness Stout Effort Award, 1982. * Jaycees Malaysia Award, 1986.

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on ...

(PSM) – Tan Sri (2011) * : ** MY-SAR Order of the Star of Sarawak - 2 ribbon PNBS -JBS-PBS-ABS-BBS

Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of Sarawak (PNBS) – Dato Sri (1998) ** Knight Commander of the

Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak The Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Kenyalang Sarawak (Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak) is the second highest order group (in the group of orders) of the orders, decorations, and medals of Sarawak. The order was instituted in 1970, and was r ...

(DA) – Datuk Amar (2013)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Masing, James Jemut 1949 births 2021 deaths Iban people Malaysian Christians People from Sarawak Sarawak politicians Malaysian political party founders Leaders of political parties in Malaysia Parti Rakyat Sarawak politicians Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak politicians Deputy Chief Ministers of Sarawak Members of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Victoria University of Wellington alumni Australian National University alumni Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak Knights Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia 21st-century Malaysian politicians