SIBU: Sarawak Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing, Dr Annuar Rapaee, is deeply saddened over the death of his long-time friend, former Bernama editor and co-founder of Bernama Radio, Openg Onn Net, 62, at the Sarawak General Hospital last night.
Dr Annuar, who is also Nangka assemblyman, said that he had known Openg for more than 20 years.
“He texted me last Thursday and I told him to take care of his health. On Friday, I texted him again but he didn’t reply and I started to get worried about him,” he said when contacted here today.
He had conveyed his condolences to Openg’s family last night.
Dr Annuar regarded Openg as a very nice person who had never asked for any favour, adding that Openg assisted him at every state assembly sitting for the last 10 years by helping him prepare his speeches and debates.
“He has fantastic writing skills, but sadly he couldn’t help me finish my book ‘Political Heart’,” he said.
Dr Annuar recalled a memorable moment with Openg, when the latter came to meet him to check his heart condition while he was still working as a cardiologist at Serdang Hospital in 2011.
“He informed me then that I had been unofficially selected as a candidate in 2011. He told me that he had received a text message from a reliable source on the matter at that time.
“I was shocked and did not believe it. I even refused him when he said that he wanted to interview me, and I told him to wait first,” recalled Dr Annuar.
According to Openg’s wife, Sabariah Zaini, 54, Openg breathed his last at about 9.44 pm, after suffering from cancer for several months.
The couple has seven children, aged between 14 and 30. – Bernama
