KUALA LUMPUR: Former Bukit Mas MP Datuk Mutang Tagal was sworn in as the new Dewan Negara President on Monday(Feb 19).
He took his oath of office as the 20th Dewan Negara president at about 2.17pm before the upper House.
The oath-taking ceremony took place at a special Dewan Negara sitting held on Monday and he is replacing Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar who is now Sarawak’s Yang di-Pertua Negeri.
He was nominated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and was the sole candidate for the post.
The 69-year-old Mutang is the first Dayak from Sarawak to be the Senate president; he is a Lun Bawang from Lawas in northern Sarawak and a lawyer by training.
He served two terms as the Bukit Mas MP from 1982 to 1990, before the constituency was redelineated into the Limbang and Lawas seats.
Currently, Mutang is the president of the Orang Ulu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the honorary consul of Romania in Sarawak.
The position of Dewan Negara president fell vacant when Dr Wan Junaidi stepped down to take over as Sarawak’s eighth Governor on Jan 26.
