By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Feb 12: Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Mas Datuk Mutang Tagal is expected to be the first Dayak appointed as the Dewan Negara president.
According to reliable sources, the Australian-trained lawyer will be sworn in next Monday (Feb 19).
He will be taking over from Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who stepped down from the post to become the eighth Sarawak Governor last month.
Mutang, who is Lun Bawang, was born on Oct 5, 1954, in Lawas, Sarawak. He holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Malaya and a Master of Business Administration from Curtin University.
He started his political career as an MP for Bukit Mas (now renamed as Lawas) for two terms from 1982 to 1990. Throughout that period, he was a Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Supreme Council member.
Afterwards, he continued practising law and managing his business.
On Jan 12, 2017, he was appointed the Honorary Consul of Romania in Sarawak.
In the same year, he was awarded the Pingat Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) which carries the title ‘Datuk’, by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
He also holds several other positions of note, namely president of Orang Ulu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OUCCI), vice-president of Sarawak Business Federation (SBF), Supreme Council Member of Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), patron of Lawas Shooting and Archery Association (LSAA), advisor to Northern Sarawak Journalists Association (NSJA), legal advisor to Persatuan Lun Bawang Sarawak, member of Sarawak Advocates Association, member of Sabah Advocates Association, and member of Bar Council Malaysia.
Mutang married Datin Ho May Leng, and they are blessed with three children. — DayakDaily
