Jugah Barieng

Jugah was born around 1903 in Kapit, Sarawak. Little is known of his early life other than he would have had a conventional Iban upbringing for a man which included hunting. By 1923, he was appointed as a local penghulu or local chief of the Iban in Kapit.^[4]

In 1953, Jugah travelled to London as one of the representatives for Sarawak at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II alongside future Sarawak governor Abang Openg.^[5]

By 1955, he was recognised as the Temenggong or "Paramount Chief" of all the Iban in Sarawak.^[6]

In 1961, Jugah helped found the Sarawak Native's Heritage Party (PESAKA) in Sibu. PESAKA was founded to represent the Iban of Batang Rajang, as opposed to joining the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) which they viewed as overwhelmingly representing the Iban of Saribas.

Jugah played a fundamental role in bringing Sarawak into the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. He was among the key signatories of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 in London. Sarawak had been made a British colony after the Japanese occupation and the subsequent liberation by the British and was granted self-government on 22 July 1963. Contemporary and future Chief Minister, Abdul Rahman Ya'kub, described Jugah as "the bridge to Malaysia," highlighting his role in the formation of the federation.

In the lead up to Malaysia's formation, Jugah was generally seen as the prime candidate to be the first Governor of Sarawak with fellow Iban Stephen Kalong Ningkan as Chief Minister, with the former representing PESAKA and the latter representing SNAP.^[7] According to the London Agreement, the British monarch and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong would jointly nominate the inaugural Sarawak governor.^[8] The positions of Chief Minister and Governor going both to Iban was generally accepted within Sarawak, but was untimately rejected by Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman who asserted that the offices of Chief Minister and Governor cannot be monopolised by the Dayak.^[9] Eventually, the positions were filled by Stephen Kalong Ningkan and Malay Abang Openg respectively.

After failing to be appointed governor, Jugah was instead appointed by Tunku as the Minister of Sarawak Affairs and thus a member of the Federal Cabinet. He was elected a member of the Dewan Rakyat during Malaysia's first general elections in 1963 for the constituency of Hulu Rajang.^[3]

In 1973, he became the first president of the United Traditional Bumiputera Party (PBB). The party was founded as a merger of Parti Negara Sarawak (PANAS), Barisan Ra'ayat Jati Sarawak (BARJASA) and Parti Pesaka Anak Sarawak (PESAKA) with the goal of securing the political representation and socioeconomic conditions of the Sarawak's Bumiputera.

He died peacefully on 8 July 1981 at Kuching, leaving behind his wife Toh Puan Tiong anak Anding, his children and grandchildren.^[10]

On the subject of Sarawak's merger with Malaysia, he state, "Anang aja Malaysia tu baka tebu, manis di pun, tabar di ujung" (Let's hope that Malaysia will not end up as a sugarcane, sweet in the beginning, but stale in the end).^[11]

Jugah's son, Leonard Linggi Jugah, became a Sarawakian businessman and retired politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Kapit and Secretary-General of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).^[12] Leonard currently serves as the Chairman of tye Tun Jugah Foundation, Managing Trustee of the Dayak Cultural Foundatio, Advisor to the Dayak Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and Deputy Chairman of the Sarawak Sovereign Wealth Future Fund. ^[13]

Leonard's son, and thus Jugah's grandson, Alexander Nanta Linggi, is a Malaysian politician who has represented the Kapit constituency since 1999 and currently serves as Malaysia's federal Minister of Works and the Secretary-General of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

•  Malaysia
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (SSM) – Tun (1981)^[14]
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (DP) – Datuk Patinggi (1977)^[15]
  • Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN) – Tan Sri (1964)^[16]
• Sabah
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima (1963)^[17]
• Sarawak
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (DP) – Datuk Patinggi (1977)^[18]
  • Knight Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak (PNBS) – Dato' (1964)^[19]

• United Kingdom
  • Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) (1961)^[20]

• Jalan Tun Jugah, a major road and flyover in Kuching, state capital of Sarawak
• Tun Jugah Shopping Centre
• Tun Jugah Foundation

• Sutlive, Vinston (1992): Tun Jugah of Sarawak: Colonialism and Iban Response. Kuching: Sarawak Literary Society. ISBN 967-65-1787-9

• Homepage of the Tun Jugah Foundation