Touching tributes in memory of Adenan Satem

KUCHING: Sarawakians held candlelight vigils on Thursday evening to remember the late chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

Adenan passed away on Jan 11 last year from heart complications, eight months after winning a landslide victory in the state elections. 

At the Waterfront here, about 200 people came to light candles and pay their respects.

Among them was Adenan's daughter-in-law Dayangku Noorhisham Aziz Adenan, who came with her two sons, aged three and seven, and some friends.

"I was very touched to see people coming here because they remember him. It's nice to show my kids what a great person their grandfather was," she said. 

Chong Shin Hua, a member of the Kuching Traditional Handicraft Studies Society which organised the Waterfront vigil, said the late Adenan was an extraordinary and incomparable man.

"He did so much for Sarawak. He showed us that we are all Sarawakians regardless of race or religion and he took a strong stand on Sarawak's rights.

"I never met him personally but I've listened to his speeches and I can still hear his voice saying ooh-ha," Chong said, referring to Adenan's trademark greeting.

Sarawakians lighting candles in a vigil for the late chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem at the Kuching Waterfront on Thursday night. - ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / THE STAR