Jacob Dungau Sagan

Dato Jacob Dungau Sagan (born 26 September 1946) was the former Member of Parliament of Baram, Sarawak from 1995 to 2013 and was the first Kenyah person to be appointed as a deputy cabinet minister in Malaysia.

Yang Berbahagia Dato Jacob Dungau Sagan PSBS KMN
Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry
In office 18 March 2008 – 15 May 2013 Serving with Liew Vui Keong (2008–2010) Mukhriz Mahathir (2010–2013)
Monarchs	Mizan Zainal Abidin Abdul Halim
Prime Minister	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Najib Razak
Minister	Muhyiddin Yassin (2008) Mustapa Mohamed (2008–2013)
Preceded by	Ng Lip Yong
Succeeded by	Hamim Samuri
Constituency	Baram
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Baram
In office 24 April 1995 – 5 May 2013
Preceded by	Harrison Ngau Laing (IND)
Succeeded by	Anyi Ngau (SPDP–BN)
Majority	5,723 (1995) 6,872 (1999) 3,310 (2004) 4,044 (2008)
Personal details
Born	(1946-09-26) 26 September 1946 Long Anap, Ulu Baram, Crown Colony of Sarawak (now Sarawak, Malaysia)
Political party	Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP)
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse	Datin Winnie Jolly
Occupation	Politician

Personal life

Jacob was born in Long Anap, Ulu Baram, Sarawak. He is of the Kenyah tribe from the Orang Ulu ethnic community. He is able to speak and write English, Bahasa Malaysia (Sarawak Malay dialect) as well as his ethnic native Kenyah and also Kayan languages fluently. In addition, he also speaks the Iban and Penan languages although he is a non-native speaker.

Jacob holds a Bachelor of Agriculture Science from the University of Adelaide, South Australia in 1970, Postgraduate Diploma in Agricultural Education from Worcester College of Higher Education, UK (1980) and Certificate in Education, Wolverhampton Polytechnic UK (1980/1981). He continued his studies in 1985 and obtained the Certificate in Management form Asian Institute of Management. In 1991, he received a Certificate in Planning and Managing Rural Development from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.

He was awarded the Senior Service Fellows from John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA in 1994. The course is equivalent to Masters in Management.

He is well trained in the art of public speaking and communication skills. He participated in Toastmasters International and was conferred the award of a Competent Toastmaster (CTM). Toastmasters International is a worldwide organisation dedicated to promote the art of public speaking. He used to conduct seminars and courses in the art of public speaking to various government departments.

Family

His father was the late Tua Kampung Taman Pulo Sagan and ex-Councillor for Baram District Council for 6 years. He is married to Datin Winnie Jolly (of mixed Iban and Chinese origins). She is one of the supreme council members of SPDP representing the women's wing quota and was previously one of the elected Sarawak National Party (SNAP) Ketua Wanita 1999–2002 and Barisan Nasional (BN) Wanita member at state and national levels.

Jacob visits his constituency regularly in Baram, Sarawak

The Civil Service and Recognitions

On 6 July 1970, Jacob joined the Department of Agriculture, Sarawak Archived 18 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine. When he was appointed as the Assistant Director of Agriculture (Farmers Institution) (ADFI), he headed the Farmers Institution (FI) Branch in Sarawak. He conducted various leadership programmes in the planning, development, program implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Farmers Organisation development in the State of Sarawak; covering one State Farmers Organisation and 26 Area Farmers Organisation which constitutes 100,000 Farmer members. The ADFI is responsible for four main divisions of work which are: Planning and development; Farmers Organisation management; Auditing and Accounting; and Business Management Services. Apart from that, he served in various posts in the Department of Agriculture Sarawak which included Youth Services, Agricultural Extension Services, Divisional Agriculture Officer, Farmers Training as well as staff training.

Political career

Jacob entered Parliament at the 1995 election, as a member of the Sarawak National Party. He left the party in 2002, with a group of other politicians, to found the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP). He was re-elected to Parliament in 1999, 2004 and 2008, although was dropped as the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Baram seat at the 2013 election. For his final term in office, from 2008 to 2013, he was a Deputy Minister for International Trade and Industry.

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1995	P191 Baram, Sarawak		Jacob Dungau Sagan (SNAP)	8,829	68.20%		Harrison Ngau Laing (IND)	3,106	23.99%	13,158	5,723	50.09%
							Luhat Wan (IND)	1,010	7.80%
1999	P192 Baram, Sarawak		Jacob Dungau Sagan (PDP)	8,609	83.21%		Sedi Li (IND)	1,737	16.79%	10,619	6,872	42.74%
2004	P218 Baram, Sarawak		Jacob Dungau Sagan (PDP)	7,551	64.03%		Kebing Wan (SNAP)	4,241	35.97%	11,973	3,310	47.21%
2008	P220 Baram, Sarawak		Jacob Dungau Sagan (PDP)	7,996	66.92%		Kebing Wan (IND)	3,952	33.08%	12,126	4,044	49.65%

Honours

• Malaysia :
  • Officer of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (KMN) (1996)
• Sarawak :
  • Companion of the Order of the Star of Sarawak (JBS) (1998)
  • Commander of the Order of the Star of Sarawak (PSBS) – Dato (2004)

Further reading

• Parliament Malaysia : Official Website Archived 9 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
• Baram Should Be Better Prepared – Sagan
• Halliburton allowed in after company stopped arms sales
• Help road upkeep or stay out, says Sagan
• Vast Potential For Domestic Players To Invest In Water Industry Archived 21 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
• Sagan: Report found to be highly suspect
• Major bumpy ride along Lapok Road