Uggah says Ujang had contributed immensely to development of state
KUCHING: The passing of former state minister and State Legislative Assembly Speaker Tan Sri Celestine Ujang Jilan is a great loss to the Dayak community and the people of Sarawak in general.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said the late Ujang had contributed immensely to the development of the state and played a major role in Parti Bumiputra Bersatu ( PBB) as the party’s Youth leader.
“I have the privilege of working with him and the late Celestine was very much committed to uniting the Bumiputera community because he wanted everybody to benefit from the mainstream development in the state,” he said when met at Ujang’s wake at his residence at Jalan Urat Mata, Tabuan Jaya here yesterday.
“When he was in the state cabinet in the 1980s, poverty was a very big issue and he played a big role to overcome poverty,” he added, saying Ujang was a visionary leader in helping the people of Sarawak.
Uggah also said Ujang was his mentor in politics when he joined PBB in 1977, holding on to the principle that there was a need and necessity for Bumiputeras to be united under a single banner.
“This is to make sure the Dayaks and other Bumiputeras will be able to reach development that the government aims for,” he said.
He said during the infamous Ming Court affair in 1987, while some PBB members joined the opposition Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), Ujang remained loyal to PBB because he believed that there was no other party that could propel Sarawak to greater heights in development.
“He worked together with the rest supporting the then Chief Minister Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to make Sarawak what it is today,” he said further.
Uggah also said Ujang was the prime mover in the development of NCR land to make sure the land had economic value.
He also described Ujang, the former Kemena assemblyman, as a very nice and very friendly man committed to racial unity in the state.
At the same time, Uggah expressed his heartfelt condolences to the late Ujang’s family.
Later, Uggah told reporters that they would be meeting with Dayak community leaders on the definition of ‘Pemakai Menoa’ and ‘ Pulau Galau’ at Imperial Hotel on Jan 23-25 as preparation before tabling amendment to the Land Code in May.
He expected the meeting to be attended by 400 participants.