KOTA KINABALU: Former Chief Justice of Malaysia Tun Richard Malanjum remembers Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin as a veteran leader who let his humility and genuine service define him as a “man of action”.
He said Sabah has lost “a golden son” in the passing of the Lamag assemblyman for his deep connection with the state’s rural communities.
Malanjum, who was in Kg Inarad, Kuamut, deep in central Sabah for a mobile court programme, recalled that Bung Moktar joined them as the area’s MP and proceeded to show his easy camaraderie with the locals.
“He was a man of action,” Malanjum told The Star on Friday (Dec 5).
“On arrival at night, I saw him like a fish to water among the villagers. He ate and bathed with them in the river. He also slept with them on the floor, just like any villagers. No deference involved.”
He recalled that Bung Moktar woke up early the next morning and immediately joined the team in organising villagers to appear before the magistrates, while also taking time to meet the kampung elders to listen to their concerns.
“He wrote those down,” he said. “He also told me that he would raise in Parliament the following week the needs of the mobile court programme. This he did without any reservations, and the mobile court subsequently received attention from the Prime Minister’s Office.”
Malanjum said leaders like Bung were rare, both in commitment and in humility.
“It is going to be difficult to find another leader with such dedication and humility. Sabah has lost a golden son. May his soul rest in peace,” he said.
