SARAWAK Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg led his cabinet to pay their last respects to Deputy Chief Minister James Masing at the Association of Churches in Sarawak Ecumenical Centre in Kuching this morning, ahead of his burial later this afternoon.

Masing, 72, died on Sunday, reportedly from heart complications, at the Normah medical specialist centre where he had sought treatment.

Abang Johari, who was accompanied by his wife Juma’ani Tuanku Bujang, arrived slightly past 9am for the short service before he, his cabinet colleagues and their spouses filed past Masing’s casket to pay their last respects.

In her eulogy, Masing’s eldest daughter Anna Sulan said the image of her doting father around the house is so strong that “I don’t want it to fade”.

Masing had four daughters – Anna, Karen, Julan and Emma Maria – and one son, Ashley Layo.

Masing was a pioneer member of the now deregistered Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) and the founding president of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).

He was first elected to the state assembly in 1983 in the rural Dayak seat of Baleh, which he held for eight terms.

Masing will be buried at the Nirvana Memorial Park in Siniawan, just outside Kuching, this afternoon. – November 3, 2021.