THE body of former Belaga assemblyman and father-in-law of Deputy Chief Minister James Jemut Masing, Nyipa Bato, will be flown from Kuching to his longhouse in the interior of Kapit today for the funeral.

Bato, 82, died on Tuesday in Kuching, where he had a home since he was first elected to the state assembly in 1969.

The death saw Masing, who is also Parti Rakyat Sarawak president, skipping the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur last night.

Bato, a four-term assemblyman – two terms from 1969 to 1979, and another two terms from 1981 to 1996 – won the Belaga seat with three different parties.

One of the state’s pioneer politicians, he first won on a Sarawak United People’s Party ticket.

In the 1974 polls, he won on a BN ticket. He then lost to independent candidate Tajang Laing in the 1979 election.

Bato staged a comeback and wrested the seat in the 1987 snap election called by the then chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud to end an attempt by his uncle, former governor Abdul Rahman Yaakub, to oust him from power, in the so-called “Ming Court coup”.

Bato, who sided with Rahman, won the seat for Permas, the party formed by Rahman to contest in the snap polls.

When the 1991 election came around, Permas was waning as a political force, and Bato returned to BN, successfully defending the seat for the last time.

Orang Ulu National Association (Ouna) president Abu Bakar Abdullah said Bato’s body would be brought home to allow people to pay their last respects.

Bato helmed Ouna for two terms – from 1975 to 1976, and from 1978 to 1979.

In his tribute, Abu Bakar said Bato helped the Orang Ulu community “stand tall” and inspired the community to improve themselves.

Belaga is a district in Kapit division, and the town with the same name is the last major town on Sungai Rajang.

The town was established in the early 1900s by Chinese traders to trade with the Orang Ulu.

The 19,050 sq km district has a population of 36,000. – January 4, 2018.