KUALA LUMPUR: The country has lost a leader in Senate president Datuk Mutang Tagal, who was very serious about parliamentary reforms, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said that although Mutang had quit politics a long time ago, his determination to elevate the dignity of Parliament, including the Senate, to greater heights could be seen as soon as he was appointed to hold the office of Senate president last February.
“He began holding serious discussions on parliamentary reforms with the Dewan Rakyat Speaker (Tan Sri Johari Abdul). I viewed him as someone with strong principles and good moral values.
“We have indeed lost a Senate president who was able to elevate the dignity of the Senate and propose reforms in our parliamentary system,” Anwar told reporters when met at the Nirvana Centre here yesterday, reported Bernama.
Anwar arrived at the memorial centre at noon to pay his last respects to Mutang, who died at the National Heart Institute (IJN) on Friday.
Anwar spent about 20 minutes meeting Mutang’s family members, including his wife, Datin Ho May Leng, and their three children, to convey his condolences.
Mutang, 69, was admitted to the IJN on May 6 upon his return from Azerbaijan.
Sarawak Governor Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Johari and his deputy Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor, as well as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, also paid their last respects to the Senate president.
According to a statement from the Senate President’s Office, another memorial service will be held at the Borneo Evangelical Mission Church in Miri starting at 10am today. Mutang will be laid to rest at the SIB Lambir cemetery tomorrow.
