30th July, 2004

We regret to announce that Dr. Judson Tagal was killed in an aircrash on Monday 12th July.  He was one of seven people on board the Hornbill Skyways helicopter which crashed at Mount Murud.

The Bell 206 Hornbill Skyways helicopter went missing on 12th July en route from Bario to Ba' Kelalan. The ensuing intensive search-and-rescue operation, set up under the personal direction of Sarawak's Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri George Chan, was the longest and largest ever in Malaysian history. It ended yesterday with the discovery of the wreckage on the slopes of Mount Murud. There were no survivors.

The other fatalities were:
 - Roger Wong, Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation CEO
 - Ling Kian Ho, Sesco northern Sarawak manager
 - Jason Eng, Sesco engineer
 - Lawrence Th'ng, Padawan Municipal Council chairman
 - Datuk Marcus Raja from Long Lellang, and
 - Capt. Samsuddin Hassim, the pilot.

Dr Judson Tagal, the State Assemblyman for Ba' Kelalan and Assistant Minister in the Sarawak Chief Minister's Department, was a neuro-surgeon before he entered politics. A gentle and soft-spoken person, he cared deeply for the people in his constituency. A truly wonderful sight was to see him during his visits to the longhouse, sitting on the floor by the fireplace with the old people, drinking tea and chatting to them as one of the family. All those who knew him, and the hill people, will miss him very much.

A funeral servivce will be held tomorrow, 31st July, 2004, at the SIB cemetary in Miri at 08.00 a.m..

We offer our deepest condolences to members of his family, and to the families of all the others who died in the aircrash.