Rakan Sarawak: An Example Interview of Datuk Peter Tinggom

YB Dato Sri Peter Tinggom ak Kamarau...reaches back to the time when he was thick in the midst of pre-Independence Sarawak within Malaysia. As the District Officer, he was instructed to 'prepare' the Ibans for local government election which was one of the steps taken to provide the lengthy, but necessary exposure towards self-government.

RAKAN Sarawak arranged an interview with YB Dato Sri Peter Tinggom at his residence, 'Lindun Villa' in Kota Samarahan and despite his tight schedule with his constituents in Saratok, Dato Sri Peter made time to talk to RAKAN.

"I have no proper room in this house which I can call an office," as he led us into a room, tidy, but full of papers and books neatly arranged on the wall. "I wouldn't call this an office, only a room where I store books and papers including the Hansards dating back to 1986."Dato Sri Peter Tinggom came across as quite a sturdy character for a man of his age, gentle but with a hearty laugh. This became evident as he recalled certain momentous events during the course of our interview.

"We are not going into too much politics here, just more on the Civil Service, right?" I agreed and we proceeded.

He had his early education at St. Peters School, Saratok from Standards 1 to 3 until 1936 whence in March 1937, he continued his education at St. Thomas's School in Kuching until 1941 after reaching Standard 7. Amongst his classmates were the former Chief Justice of Borneo, Tan Sri Dato Sri Lee Hun Hoe and Encik Raymond Reggie Adai, a former editor of the Sarawak Tribune.

Civil Service

Dato Sri Peter started training for the Sarawak Colonial Civil Service in November 1947 as a Student Native Officer in Kuching. There were 15 students altogether. Upon confirmation on 1st September 1948, he was posted to his hometown Saratok, while the others were posted elsewhere in the country. Confirmation then meant having sat and passed the lower standard examination. The subjects were the Criminal Procedure Code, Ethnic Customary laws which were confined to the Third Division 'Tusun Tunggu' and the Sarawak Malay Undang-Undang.

While serving as a Native Officer in Saratok, Kabong, and Roban, he worked under the following officers and Native Officers in-charge who were doing the duties of the District Officer. They were, Mr. R. Rennick, Encik Abang Morni, Mr. M M McSporran, Mr. R G Keith and Encik Abang Mostapha.

After a lapse of 3 months in Saratok under the charge of Mr. Rennick, then came the temporary transfer to Kabong, followed by Roban, Lingga, Simunjan and finally in 1957 to Lubok Antu as the Acting District Officer.

Memories of Saratok

The Saratok posting, though rather brief, provided very important basic administrative experiences to the young officer. "Official visits to the very remote rural areas was a feat in those days as the long walks took us over sometimes monotonous hilly trails. The anticipation and later the reception were good especially as they were as varied as one can think of," said Dato Sri Peter.

1952. As Native Officer, Roban attending Sibu Aum on Third Division Tusun Tunggu chaired by the Officer Administering the Government, A G Aikmain He continued, "On such occasions, I almost always had to accompany one Mr. R G Keith, the District Officer who had a wonderful capacity to acquaint himself with the social customs of the local people. In those days, the fear of tropical diseases among the British officers was quite real. His wife and the children upon realising the threat to their health agreed, upon medical advice, to go back to England leaving Mr. Keith alone in Sarawak and Saratok. In many instances, I saw the almost unfair effect of loneliness on the man. Nevertheless, duties were performed."

The then Tuan Resident for the Second Division was a Mr. A F R Griffin who had much confidence and faith in his native officers. He left them to handle matters quite independently with a lot of trust. "Mr. Griffin often visited Roban and I accompanied him when he met the then Tua Kampong, Encik Abang Suleman, the Kapitan Cina, Mr. Jong Kim Joo, and the Iban Penghulu. He often said that he was very pleased to see the harmonious way that our people conduct themselves amongst each other and the respect that we have shown them while they were serving in Sarawak."

Aum

It was while serving in Roban that the Resident, Mr. A F R Griffin nominated Dato Sri Peter to join the 'Aum' in Sibu as an observer. "The walking from Roban to catch a taxi at Sg. Paoh and then to Sarikei was indeed very tiring. In Sarikei, I boarded the government launch which took the Resident, the Penghulus and me to Sibu. I was happy and looked forward to this as this would mean extraordinarily good exposure to top-up my experiences in the present workplace."
The 'Aum' culminated in the adoption and approval of the 'Tusun Tunggu' which was used until 1973. The Adat Iban which covers all the Iban community in the State was used from 1973 onwards.

"After this gathering of the Iban Chiefs in Sibu, I was instructed to accompany the Paramount Iban Chief, Temenggong Koh Anak Jubang to his hometown in Kapit. It was several hours journey by the slow boat loaded with charcoal. With the Paramount Chief there were Penghulu Jugah Anak Barieng who later became the second and the last Iban Paramount Chief. He passed away in July 1981 after a very illustrious career as a chief and later as a politician. The late Pengarah Sibat who was later to become Temenggong after Jugah's demise and the present Datuk Temenggong Jinggut were in the same company."

"Upon reaching Kapit the next day," continued Dato Sri Peter, "I was invited by the ever-energetic Jugah to visit the Methodist Primary School where he proudly introduced me as one of the few Ibans in the administrative service. I was asked to speak after him to give encouragement to the anxious children. It was long after these pupils have graduated when my posting as District Officer of Kapit commenced in 1961. I did not realise that this was a very early familiarisation tour together with the Chiefs and in a launch full of charcoal. I thought to myself, the British have their own way of sorting things out!"

Colombo Plan sponsorship to Australia

In 1954, Dato Sri Peter was transferred to Lingga where he stayed for about 10 months as a Native Officer-in-charge. He took over from the late Abang Karim, who was promoted and became the District Officer of Simanggang. "My responsibility covered the sub-district of Sebuyau including the Malay central villages of Meludam and Tebelu. After 10 months in Lingga, I was selected with 5 others to attend a Public Administration course in Australia sponsored by the Colombo Plan."

1957. District Office, Lubok Antu as Acting District Officer with Resident Simanggang A F R Griffin and Court Peon Ibai talking to Indai Pemanca Manau concerning her eldest son who was accidentally shot by colleagues in Malaya (both Iban trackers) in 1957. She wanted her son's remains to be brought back to Sarawak

"Those in our group from Sarawak are the late Michael Toyad (YB Datuk Leo M Toyad's father); the late Datuk Fauzi from Sibu; myself, and 3 Chinese ­ the Director of Labour Department, Mr. Tan Beng Siong, a Clerk who became an SAO Class 1, Mr. Siaw Joon Chin; and a Health Inspector, Mr. Tham Ah Choi. 3 others are from Sabah, 3 from Singapore, 1 from Brunei, and the rest from Malaya. Altogether, there were 25 of us on this Colombo Plan sponsorship."

Looking back, Dato Sri Peter reminisced that he already had a feeling that the British Crown Colony must have already thought about granting Independence to Sarawak and talks about the formation of the Federation of Malaysia was rife. But then of course, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra announced the proposal for the Federation of Malaysia during a luncheon in Singapore in May 1961. "I remember this event very well as I have mentioned it in one of my speeches in Parliament last year when I talked about the different backgrounds that we have in Sarawak compared to those in Semenanjung Malaysia."

Dato Sri Peter went on, "...on my return in July or early August, 1955 after being in Australia for about 6 months, I went up to see the Deputy Chief Secretary to the Colonial government, Mr. Snellus. He asked me what have I learnt in Australia and I replied that there was not very much to learn within a space of only 6 months. Mr. A R Snellus was quite shocked with my answer and he asked me the same question until I said, Yes sir, I have learned something" what is it? From now on, I will have more confident in doing my work... He immediately snapped at me and said, "That's it, my dear fella, that's what I want to hear Peter." With that he just dismissed me and I left his office feeling amused and happy."

"Afterwards I was posted to Simunjan until 1957 when I became the Acting District Officer of Lubok Antu." The stint in Australia was the only training he ever had outside his own country. But that was enough to give him some idea on federation. "Australia has a very strong state government as well as a federal government," added Dato Sri Peter.

79 Nights

In 1959, whilst acting as the Assistant Secretary at the Secretariat in Kuching, Dato Sri Peter was tasked to go on a special duty to tour the whole of the Second Division. "I received my instructions from Mr. J Pike, who was the Secretary for local government. He called me in one day and said, "just tell the Ibans, when there is any local council election in future, tell them to cast their votes, so that they can prepare themselves for self-government."

He was also told that the late Hermanus Assan, the first Iban DO will cover the Third Division, and due to his earlier posting to Saratok, Lubok Antu and Lingga, he will campaign in the Second Division to tell the Ibans about the importance of casting their votes in local government election whenever it is scheduled to be held.

"I was very much taken by surprise at this command and thought how big this task is. I cannot bring myself to question Mr. John Pike, a very commanding man who later took part as the Secretary for the Sarawak delegation in the inter-governmental committee for the proposed federation. This is one of the events that were to lead to the formation of Malaysia in 1963."

"So I arranged my own programme. I started with Sebuyau and met up with every Penghulu and explained to them that the British will eventually hand over the administration of their country to the local people and that they must participated in the local government elections and that local authorities all over Sarawak would be the beginning of how to govern ourselves."

In his campaign, he told the Ibans that "...in order to gain Independence, we must possess many things. We, the Ibans have many shortages - money, intellectuals, etc., but, the only thing we possess in abundance is land. But then again, who in their right mind would want to buy land deep in the jungle! In my mind, Independence from British rule will come in 15 to 20 years at the latest. This was after I spoke to the Ibans in Ulu Krian, Saratok in 1959. Lo and behold, in 1963, 4 years after I have campaigned in Ulu Krian, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra declared Independence from British rule! I was thinking in terms of 15 to 20 years but little did I realise it could be sooner than that."

Independence?

1958. In front of the District Office, Lundu during the official visit of H E the third Governor of Sarawak, Sir Anthony Abell (centre). Accompanying him was the Resident 1st Division, Mr. A F R Griffin on his right

In May 1961, the proposal for Independence was brought up by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman. "I was in Kanowit and Kapit at the time, going round the areas explaining to the people about the White Paper on Independence. I was literally on the road most of the time, travelling by longboat and on foot."

So many questions were asked. In December 1962, Sarawak experienced its worst floods in history; the Brunei Rebellion was at its height and spread to Limbang in Sarawak. At the same time, the threat from the Clandestine Communist Organisation was looming on the horizon. Dato Sri Peter added, "...I remember sentencing one Chinese in Kapit to a fine of $50.00 for his involvement in the Organisation. I was the Magistrate Class 1 during the time."

"As the District Officer," continued Dato Sri Peter, "...we have to explain to the Ibans about their involvement in politics but our task was more on the impending administration machinery when Independence became a reality. We needed to be fair to the proposal and if there are any shortcomings, we will have to be answerable to the people. In the end there's an Aum as mentioned in the Cobbold Commission where 51 Penghulus or chieftains were involved which was initiated by the late Tun Jugah."

Dato Sri Petes added that "...if one were to read the 'Cobbold Commission Report' on Independence, therein it mentioned the agreement reached by the 51 Penghulus where most of the conditions attached to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia for Sarawak have been included in the Inter-Governmental Report and finally in the Federal Constitution."

Some words of advise

"To me, although we were little prepared for Independence, the only way forward is to accept Independence but with the conditions attached where it can guarantee our status under the Malaysian Constitution.

It is now clear that our late Tunku Abdul Rahman, who became Malaysia's first Prime Minister felt that this is the only way that we can form one race, which is the Malaysian race where all races can work and live together under one roof.

We accepted that Islam is the official religion but we also expect to be respected when it comes to practicing our own religion apart from Islam. This is the only way we can reach peace and harmony in our multi-racial country just like we used to be. Why change it. After all, the Constitution is not going to be changed.

I already spoke in Parliament about the background of Sarawak within Malaysia and the uniqueness of our State as compared to Peninsular Malaysia. When James Brooke arrived in Sarawak, even the Ibans were at loggerheads with each other and the only way he thought things could be pacified was to bring in MacDougall in 1848 who was a Priest of the Anglican Church and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeon in London and later ordained as the first Anglican Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak in 1856.

To me, it worked. When we look at the real thing in this part of the world, of course, Brooke is a coloniser, but why was he accepted by the Malay leaders like Datu Patinggi Ali and the rest, and the other ethnic groups as well. There must be good reasons behind it.

That is our background and I believe that the present leaders recognise that fact and if that is the case we can continue living happily in harmony. Those who work hard can become successful. That is the only way and that is what happened."

Politics

Dato Sri Peter then turned his thoughts on his political career which started after he left the Civil Service as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Sarawak in 1981. He explained that he has been a Deputy Minister for two terms and now he is the Member of Parliament for Saratok.

1982. First meeting of the Majlis Adat Istiadat Sarawak (MAIS) after taking over from the first President of MAIS, the late Tun Jugah, six months after his demise in July, 1981

One of the reasons for entering politics is to do more for the people after he felt that he had not achieved much when he became the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture. His job as the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for 11 years was mainly talking and getting subsidy from the government to the people, putting up planning and budgeting almost every year.

"When I retired from the Civil Service, the people asked me what have I done after being in the Ministry as the Permanent Secretary. My reply to the effect that the government gives subsidy to the farmers and entrepreneurs, etc. seems to be insufficient especially to the younger generation who are expecting more. The Federal government could only give so much as far as the Ministry is concerned and sometimes not even half of what we put up in our proposal."

In July 1981, Tun Jugah ak. Barieng passed away when he was the President of the Majlis Adat Istiadat Sarawak, MAIS. The present Chief Minister appointed Dato Sri Peter to take over from the late Tun Jugah as the President of MAIS from 1 January 1982 until December 1983.

IADP

"In 1980, through the Ministry of Agriculture, we were required to select 2 IADP areas - I called all heads under my Ministry including the Directors of Agriculture, DID, Land & Surveys, Forestry and the General Manager of SALCRA. They propopsed 1 IADP in Samarahan river basin including Asajaya up to Siburan. The 2nd IADP is in my own area, Kalaka-Saribas where the only successful DID scheme for padi planting is at Lubok Nibong.

With these 2 new big schemes, under the strategic leadership of the Chief Minister, Dato Sri Peter was appointed the chairman of the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority, SALCRA, in 1985-1990, the state government agency initially formed to develop Native Customary Rights (NCR) Land.

"When we started, there were opposition from certain quarters," said Dato Sri Peter. "The Iban has a saying ­ 'if there is anything that you want to do, you do it on your own property.' Start in your area first, then you can ask others to join you later."

"So that's the reason why I wanted to be pulled into politics, because I felt that as the Permanent Secretary, I didn't think I could do much for the people. But now the people appreciate the effort that I have put in. Still, when they want to start a big agricultural scheme, the government is always willing to accommodate them but they must first be patient and be willing to work hard to get it. This is also reiterated by YB Tan Sri Datuk Amar Alfred Jabu, the Minister of Rural and Land Development."

Elections

After 2 years, he wanted to be taken out to be a political candidate in 1983, but lost in the ensuing election. In 1984 he garnered his strength once more and went round to the people to get their consensus for him to be involved more in politics.

"When Sarawak joined the Federation of Malaysia, she was far behind in most aspects and I used to remember YAB Datuk Patinggi Taib saying so in one of his speeches a couple of years back. But since he became the Chief Minister, the tempo of development and the type of strategy adopted by working closely with the Federal leaders, things seems to be much easier and smoother."

Dato Sri Peter added that "...recently, the Prime Minister just declared open a workshop in the Federal Capital on indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak. He said broadly that these people should be given extra attention and secondly, he said that 'we will help you but you will have to help yourself.' These two words caught my attention during the dinner in KL, I took note."

"The Chief Minister's new strategy for Sarawak under his 'Politics of Development' is doing really well," declared Dato Sri Peter, "...but still more needs to be done especially on the development aspect, physically as well as mentally."