First woman in the Legislative Chamber
Datuk Tra (Philomena) Zehnder became the first woman to sit in the Legislative Chamber when she was nominated member of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly in 1960. Born in Miri on 25 October 1926, Datuk Tra possesses extraordinary leadership, making her debut in the late 1950’s, after her education at St. Mary’s School, Kuching.
She has contributed extensively towards the social and community affairs and political development in Sarawak. In 1957, she was the founder member of Sarakup Indu Dayak Sarawak (SIDS), an organisation championing the welfare of Iban women in Sarawak. In July 1988, Datuk Tra was appointed the first lady Temenggong in Sarawak, and later appointed president of the Majlis Adat Istiadat Sarawak. In recognition of her tireless efforts to improve her community, she has been conferred many awards, among them the Tan Sri Fatimah Women Excellence Award in 1992.
First woman to lead an
organisation
Barbara Mendu Bay, born at Sungai Tanju in Kota Samarahan was the first President of Sarakup Indu Dayak Sarawak (SIDS), formed specially to look into women’s interests in 1957. It was a branch of the Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU)’s Women’s Wing aimed at uniting the Dayaks through social and cultural activities. After SIDS, she was actively involved in politics where she joined the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) in 1959. She was also a councillor for the Kuching Municipal Council (KMC) from 1962 to 1981.
For her continuous involvement in commendable work, she received the Johan Bintang Sarawak (JBS), and later a part of Sekama road, Jalan Mendu, was named after her.
She passed away on 12 March 1986 at the age of 86. For her contributions, SIDS has set up the ‘Barbara Bay Scholarship’ for students who are keen to pursue studies in linguistics in any local university.
Youngest to weave Pua
Bangi anak Embol of Rumah Garie, Ulu Sungei Kain in the Kapit region claimed to be barely 10 years old when she completed her first pua kumbu, an Iban spiritual blanket. Her weavings were duplicates for motifs woven by her mother and grandmother.
As a young woman, she dreamt her first dream, which had spirits giving her the permission to come up with a design. Now, the widow of five children, Bangi is reputed to be one of the master weavers in the Kapit region. Her longhouse is one of the most productive weavers of pua kumbu, a much sought after handicraft in Sarawak and around the world.
Bangi’s pua is remarkable for the richness of colour and the variation in human, animals and plants motifs. She is also the chairperson of Pusat Tenunan Pua Kumbu, a small cottage industry she started with the help of the other enterprising women of the longhouse. They can easily earn up to RM2,000 monthly for their weavings. Bangi’s designs recently won the first prize at the bi-annual UNESCO’s Craft Prize held in Thailand.
First Indian to head a Government Department
Mr. L. S. V. Murthy was recruited by the Forestry Department of Sarawak in 1956, and was Conservator of Forest Sarawak in 1970 until retiring in 1975. He was then appointed General Manager of Sarawak Timber Industries Development Authority (STIDC) until 1979, the first Indian to become head of a Government Department.
Now residing in Sarawak, he was also an active member of the Indian Association in the 1960’s, and has contributed his part for the well-being of the Indian community in Sarawak.
World’s Most Frequent
Best Man
Ting Ming Siong, from Sibu is acknowledged as the World’s Most Frequent Best Man in the Guinness Book of World Records. Born on 4 January 1955, Ting served as a best man in 1978 for the first time at the wedding of a friend.
Since then, he has served in weddings all over Sarawak, as well as in Kota Kinabalu, and even Port Klang in West Malaysia. Up till June 2001, he has shattered his previous records with a total of 1,249 weddings!
First to set up a Public Transport Company
Kho Bok Seng set up the Kuching Matang Transport Company in Kuching in 1942. The first public transport company started with a single bus, which was a five-seater Bedford with the licence plate ‘KC11’.
Later over the years, Kho acquired bigger and better buses, accumulating over a hundred buses throughout the years. The earliest routes of the company were along the Kuching-Matang Road and then subsequently other areas around Kuching.
(To be continued)
