IN the first week of December 1983, during the school break, I found myself in Kedap and later in Saratok town with some friends. I went AWOL from school due to a momentary lapse in judgement – I became involved in a political storm, serving as the proposer for an independent candidate, Solomon Buyong Igoh, during the nomination day of the 1983 State Election at the Saratok Community Hall.
This act was a blatant violation of the federal government’s Disciplinary Ethics, and I was fully aware of the consequences but at the time, I didn’t care. I had expected my name to top the list of candidates but instead, I was placed fourth – behind my cousin, Dunstan Melling Undau, Kanowit DO Empeni Lang, and Datuk Peter Nyarok. I only discovered this after checking with Deputy SNAP President Datuk Edward Jeli at Sibu’s Premier Hotel.
Young and hot-blooded, I flew into a rage and called my friend Solomon, a retired senior administrative officer aged 44. He agreed to run when I offered to sponsor his candidacy.
To some, this trip to Saratok was an act of defiance and protest but for me, it was fuelled by enthusiasm and hope. For several days, our room in Kedap bustled with preparations for the campaign as we anxiously anticipated nomination day.
On nomination day, we were based at a hotel in Saratok, which also housed some other candidates. SNAP had fielded Saratok MP Datuk Seri Peter Tinggom Kemarau as its candidate, set to face PBDS’ Datuk Seri Edmund Langgu Saga and three others, including Solomon.
My role as proposer violated Act 73 of the Code of Disciplinary Ethics and could have resulted in immediate dismissal from service. By noon on nomination day, I had already spent nearly RM5,000 on various expenses, including a RM500 deposit at the Kalaka District Office.
On the third day, we left Kedap at the request of my brother-in-law, Penghulu Kandau, who worked for the BN candidate, Tinggom. We met Tinggom at another hotel in Saratok, where he agreed that we should support his campaign. We formally withdrew Solomon’s candidacy and travelled to Kuching to meet Datuk Amar James Wong, the SNAP president, who compensated us with a substantial sum.
I did not return to Saratok for the election but Solomon still received 165 votes when the results were announced. In Kedap, people were informed by my father that we had chosen to support Tinggom though the election was ultimately won by Langgu by a margin of just over 400 votes.
Luck was on my side: someone at the Education Headquarters in Kuching had discarded my file and my record remained clean. Still, the head of the School Section of the Education Department, Leonard Martin Uning (now Datuk), who was both my mentor and poker buddy, called me in for a stern 15-minute reprimand.
In 1984, I was in Kedap again, bringing my fiancée there after our engagement in June. We married on December 8 of that year, and soon after, I was transferred from Kanowit to SMK Saratok, my alma mater, where I began teaching in 1985. It felt meaningful to be serving in my hometown and at my former school. Throughout that year, I often visited Kedap with my wife, who had secured a temporary teaching post at the school.
I viewed my posting to SMK Saratok as a test of my true political stance, a chance to prove I would not show favour to any political party. I passed that test, even attending a barbeque hosted by Langgu – at the invitation of his brother-in-law, Paul Kadang – to demonstrate my respect for both PBDS and SNAP.
In 1986, I was transferred to SMK Serian and in 1987, I became its acting principal while waiting for a new officer to take over. During our two years in Serian, we visited Kedap at least three times. By then, we had a daughter, born in February 1986.
At the end of 1987, I was transferred to SMK Julau in the Sarikei Division, starting work there on January 1, 1988.
On February 4, 1988, my grandmother, Kejuang Meling, passed away at the age of 97, claiming to have been born in 1891. Her funeral in Kedap was a profound and sorrowful event.
She was the first to receive a burial service at our chapel, St Gabriel, before being laid to rest at Nanga Assam Christian Cemetery near the school. My family received more than RM8,000 in donations from various sources and generous friends.
My mother, Jabai Narang, who always appeared frail, missed her mother deeply. Exactly seven months later, on September 1, 1988, she, too, passed away at Sarikei Hospital, aged only 72.
She was buried on September 4 in the same cemetery. I arrived from Julau on the evening of August 31 as she neared the end. Her last requests were for a cigarette and some sugar – final wishes we honoured before she passed at 4:00 am on September 1.
I brought her body to the mortuary while waiting for transport to Kedap. Two nights later, we held her funeral – the fourth in our family at Kedap Tebing Ai. Once again, we received generous donations, totalling around RM12,000.
Our family welcomed a son in 1990 but tragedy struck on December 14, 1990, when our daughter, Garcia Ann Kejuang, aged five, died in an accident in Durin along with her cousin Daphne Cherini Low, aged nine. I had been driving and was hospitalised for eight weeks in Sibu and Kuching. I was only discharged in late February 1991.
In my absence, Garcia’s funeral was held in Kedap on December 18 while Daphne was laid to rest in Bawang Assan, Sibu.
Garcia’s funeral was the fifth in our family at Kedap. By then, we had a family generator, a relief for my elder brother Jon (Chandi), who worked as a foreman for JKR Saratok, cared for our father and stayed in our room in Kedap.
My wife and I later welcomed our son, Jay Kingsley Gara, born on August 2, 1990 – the surviving twin, as his younger brother, Rex Melvin Saran, was stillborn.
On March 20, 1993, our family grew again with the birth of our daughter, Dawn Sara; both children were born in Kuching at a private hospital.
Dawn was first brought to Kedap as an infant in July 1993 during a school break. We held a small gathering in our room where relatives and friends met the new baby for the first time. “She looks like her mom,” many remarked.
I saw this visit as significant as it allowed Dawn to be introduced to our Kedap relatives, to be touched and loved even though my mother and grandmother had already passed on.
By September 1993, we moved to our home at Lorong Pasir, Rock Road, in Kuching, following my transfer to SMK Lake, Bau, where I later served as acting principal. Living farther from Saratok, we managed only one or two visits to Kedap in the three years I was in Bau.
The decade from 1983 to 1993 was a time of deep reflection and internal struggle for me, especially in 1983. Over time, I came to realise my weaknesses and mistakes. My marriage brought me stability and set me on the right path – thanks be to God. I then focused on my work and my family, especially my parents.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at tawisalok@yahoo.com.
