Most prolific Author
Born in Kuching on 12 January 1924, Ho Ah Chon received his early education at the Min Tek School in Kuching.
A businessman active in social and welfare work, his hobby of photography led him to have a large collection of photographs on personalities, events and buildings in Sarawak. In 1993, he and two other local authors, Jeniri Amir and the late Liu Pak Khui received awards as the most prolific local writers at that time.
He has compiled and published 36 volumes of historical events, supported by a collection of his own photographs and is the most prolific local author to date.
Teenage Mathematics Genius
Burhanuddin Al-Helmy bin Baki, from Kota Samarahan, is Sarawak’s first teenage mathematics genius. At the age of 18, Burhanuddin discovered a new theory for numbers, which was deemed the latest discovery in the world of mathematics. He has caught the attention of world class mathematicians for his discoveries and theories in various fields of mathematics.
During his school days, his outstanding performances included 4A’s for UPSR, 8A’s for PMR and 10A’s for SPM. At the Devonport High (Grammar) School for Boys, Plymouth, UK, he bagged the Gold Award in the British-Philips Mathematics Olympiad and the British-French Language Essay competition in 1997. Since then, he graduated from Davenport with straight A’s and 10 Commendable Merit Points in all subjects.
Amazingly, he studied the five computer languages – C++, Assembly Language (IBM PC), Delphi, Turbo Pascal, Visual Basic and BASIC – on his own when he was only 14 years old.
First locally built hovercraft
Former Marine Captain, Raphael Chia of Miri created history by building a hovercraft from locally sourced materials in September 1997, a feat which was recorded in the Malaysian Book of Records.
Powered by a 20 HorsePower (HP) 4-stoke engineer, the hi-tech hovercraft can easily attain a speed of 20 knots. Christianed the “Rafflesia”, it measures 14 feet in length and 8 feet in width, weighing 159kg.
In 2000, Chia built another, larger hovercraft named the “Flying Fish” equipped with a 70 Horse Power engine, able to
carry seven passengers at one time. It consumes between 15 and 20 litres of petrol for an hour’s journey at a speed of between 25 and 30 knots.
First Lady to be awarded “Datuk Amar”
Datuk Amar Puan Sri (Dr.) Hajjah Laila Taib is the first lady from Sarawak to be awarded Darjah Utama Yang Amar Mulia Bintang Kenyalang, DA Sarawak which carries the title “Datuk Amar”. She was bestowed the award on 16 September 1988 by the Tuan Yang Terutama Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak.
A lady of many firsts, Datuk Amar Laila is also the first Sarawakian lady to receive the ‘Honorary Doctor of Philosophy of Political Science”, conferred by the Pacific Western University, Los Angeles, USA, in recognition of her welfare and humanitarian work.
In 1982, she founded SABATI, a voluntary organisation to formulate and carry out charitable activities in Sarawak. The members of SABATI or ‘Sarawak Badan Amal Tenaga Isteri-Isteri’ comprised the wives of Ministers, Assistant Ministers, State Legislative Assembly Speakers and Deputy Speakers.
Due to her outstanding work for charity, Datuk Amar Laila was the first non-Rotarian from Sarawak to be the recipient of the ‘Paul Harris Fellow’ award. The Rotary Club of Kuching Central under the Rotary Club of District 3310 presented Datuk Amar Laila with the award on 30 June 1998.
Oldest to write memoirs
Chua Gin Teck, born on 16 September 1914, is the oldest war veteran to write his personal historic memoirs. At this stage, he has already completed three-quarters of his memoirs by himself, and will have his daughter type the drafts before it published. He aims to leave a record of his life for his eight children and over 30 grandchildren as well as is for posterity.
Chua joined the ‘Z’ Force Special Unit, a crack allied commando group during the Second World War, while he was in Singapore. The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce (before the fall of Singapore to Japanese) had introduced him to the Royal Army Service Core, from which he was later brought to Perth for months of special training. He still has a copy of a certificate of appreciation from the Australian Government for his contribution to the pace efforts during the Second World War, which is signed by the former Prime Minster of Australia, Paul Keating, and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Con Siacca.
(To be continued)
