SIBU (Bernama): Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister II Tan Sri Dr James Masing was a strong proponent of Iban cultural heritage and his demise comes as a great loss to Kelab Gagung Sarawak (KGS), a club promoting the Iban costume.

       KGS founder Sammy Ngelambai said Masing was very interested in the costume and wanted it to be revived as it reflected the identity of the Ibans, a major ethnic group in Sarawak known for their fighting spirit.

       "He had assisted KGS in many ways, thus his passing today was a great loss to us,” he said when contacted by Bernama here Sunday (Oct 31).

       He said Masing had bought two sets of "gagung" or animal skin vests and two sets of headgear from Sammy as his personal ceremonial suits, along with a long sword and a traditional Iban fighting blade called the "nyabor".

       The costume also comprises headgear decorated with the head of a "Kenyalang" (rhinoceros hornbill) and the feathers of the "enggang" (another hornbill species), boar tusk necklaces and swords decorated with human hair, silver belt and necklaces, and a bamboo container for carrying blowpipe darts.

       Sammy said Masing had even donned a full Iban ceremonial suit during the "Niti Daun" or parade in conjunction with the Gawai Dayak celebration on June 22, 2018.

       According to him, he had first met Masing in Long Singut in Kapit when Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) was at the height of its political strength, where Masing was then right-hand man of PBDS president Tan Sri Leo Moggie.

       Masing first contested and won the Baleh state seat in the 1983 election and had represented the constituency since.

       "I will remember Masing as a gentle, straightforward person who spoke his mind. The thing that he was very concerned with was education and he had wanted Sarawak to produce more intellectuals,” Sammy added. - Bernama