Sarawak by-election after Batang Ai rep dies

KUCHING, Feb 24 – Malaysianinsider – Bernama

Batang Ai assemblyman Datuk Dublin Unting Ingkot died at 1.25am at the Normah Medical Specialist Centre here after suffering from a stroke.Unting, 55, who was the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) vice-president and Sports and Agriculture assistant minister, is survived by his wife, Datin Froline Moriah Demies Impoi, two sons and a daughter.

He had been hospitalised for the past nine months after falling into a coma following a massive stroke in May last year while being interviewed by a Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) radio channel in his capacity as the Chef de Mission for the Sarawak contingent to the Malaysian Games (Sukma).

PRS secretary-general Wilfred Nissom told Bernama that he paid him a visit last night when it was learnt that his condition had taken a turn for the worse.Unting’s will be bought back to his residence at Jalan Kampung Stutong here later today.In the last state election held in May 2006, Unting won the predominantly Iban seat after defeating Nicholas Bawin Anggat of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) with a 806-vote majority.

He first won the Batang Ai seat in 1991 under the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) ticket, which was then in opposition at the state level in a straight fight with Mikai Mandau from the Barisan Nasional (BN).

In the subsequent state elections held in 1996 and 2001, he retained the seat on BN-PBDS ticket and later joined PRS following the deregistration of PBDS due to an internal leadership crisis in 2004.

PRS president Datuk Seri Dr James Masing praised Unting as a dedicated assemblyman who was committed to improving the socio-economic standard of his constituency and the state as a whole."He is a person who does not hold any grudges or ill feeling against anybody as far as I know," he told Bernama."On behalf of the party I offer my condolences to his family. His dedicated services to the party, constituency and state will be forever remembered," he added.