KUCHING: Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Integrity and Ombudsman) Datuk Talib Zulpilip described the late Datuk Dr Yusoff Hanifah – the first Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) mayor – who passed away on Tuesday night, as a determined individual in achieving his goals.
“He will be remembered by many of his students especially those in Tanjong Lobang, Miri. There are many postings of him on the social media, about his passing.
“Like many good teachers, he will be remembered for his dedication. In fact, for those who sat for the Common Entrance examination in 1959, albeit it was his first time being in charge, there were only two dropouts and the rest continued on to Form One in Tanjong Lobang.
“That was one of his achievements,” said Talib when contacted yesterday.
He added that the late Yusoff worked hard to get his Form Five and Higher School Certificates, by sitting for the examination together with the students whom he was teaching.
“That is what I term as persistence. Something we can learn from him,” he pointed out.
Talib also revealed that he had worked with the late Yusoff when the latter was the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Resource Planning.
“At that time, I was at the Industrial Development Ministry. We had to coordinate some aspects of the timber policies as part of the timber downstream development.
“He was a delightful person to work with. Thus, I must record my appreciation for his support and cooperation,” he said.
DBKU’s first mayor, from 1988-1994, passed away in New Zealand on Tuesday night at 10.15pm New Zealand time.
He is survived by his wife Datin Zaleha Abdullah and two daughters.
The late Yusoff and his wife migrated to New Zealand two years ago.
