Road passing through Serian town named after Michael Ben
KUCHING: The stretch of road passing through Serian town from Kampung Kakai roundabout to a small roundabout in front of the old Serian District Office has been officially named after the late Datuk Michael Ben.
The official naming of the road was announced by the late Ben’s son Martin Ben.
Martin, who is Kedup assemblyman, expressed his gratitude to Serian District Council ( MDS) for proposing one of the roads in the town to be named after his late dad.
He told reporters that it was initiated by the councillors of MDS in 2004 but “I was only contacted by the council secretary in 2013 to inform me of the plan”.
He said the naming of one of the roads after his father was to appreciate his father’s contribution to the development of Serian.
“On behalf of my family I would like to thank MDS for the proposal and the Sarawak government for accepting and approving it.
“And today, it is officially named after my late father, after it was endorsed and approved by Sarawak government on March 2018.”
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg in announcing the cabinet’s approval in March said the decision was made in honour of the late Ben, who had contributed a lot to the development of Serian.
Ben was a very prominent political leader representing the
On behalf of my family I would like to thank MDS for the proposal and the Sarawak government for accepting and approving it. And today, it is officially named after my late father, after it was endorsed and approved by the state government on March 2018.
Bidayuh community here.
He was appointed assistant minister for local government in 1979 and had served as assistant minister for both culture, youth and sports and land development before retiring from politics in 1996.
He was assemblyman for Tebekang from 1970 to 1991 and for Tebedu from 1991 to 1996.
In a political career that spanned over three decades, Ben served in three political parties – the Sarawak National Party, the now defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak and Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu.
He was appointed Temenggong of the Bidayuh community in Samarahan Division in 1998 before he died in September, 2009.
Martin Ben, Kedup assemblyman