KUALA LUMPUR – The late Dewan Negara president Datuk Mutang Tagal was one of the first to push for serious parliamentary reforms, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his tribute.
“Datuk Mutang Tagal was an old friend, he and I entered the Parliament together in 1982. We were close because we were the younger members of Parliament at the time.
“I regarded him as someone with principles and a man who upheld good moral values. The country has lost someone who was able to raise the dignity of the Dewan Negara and proposed parliamentary reforms.”
Anwar said this to media after attending Mutang’s wake at the Nirvana Centre here.
He spent about 20 minutes meeting Mutang’s wife Datin Ho May Leng and his other family members to convey his condolences.
Also present at the wake were Sarawak governor Tun Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul and deputy speaker Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor.
Mutang, 70, was admitted to the hospital on May 6 upon his return from Azerbaijan and died at 11.46am yesterday.
Another memorial service will be held at the Borneo Evangelical Mission Church in Miri starting at 10am tomorrow. Mutang will be laid to rest at the SIB Lambir Cemetery on Monday.
He was appointed Dewan Negara president on February 19 of this year, becoming the first Orang Ulu (Dayak indigenous) to hold the post after taking over from Wan Junaidi, who was appointed Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak.
He was an ethnic Lun Bawang, a subgroup of Dayaks native to Sarawak.
Born on October 5, 1954, in Lawas, Mutang received his primary education at SK Long Semadoh and SK Ba’kelalan before continuing his studies at SMK Limbang and SMK Lawas.
He then pursued his studies at Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang in Miri and later studied law at the Universiti Malaya.
A trained lawyer by profession, he previously served as Bukit Mas MP from 1982 to 1990. – May 11, 2024