[last updated 14/11/2020]
The 14th SHS Annual General Meeting held on 7 Nov. 2020 elected following
SHS COMMITTEE for the 2020-2022 session:
President: James P. YONG Shoon Loi
Vice president: Donna YONG Siaw Wah
Secretary: Deborah Catherine DRIS
Treasurer: Rosemary WONG Lu Yi
Committee members:
. Angelina JONG Siew Phing
. Arif ARABI
. Atta Idrawani Bin ZAINI (Dr)
. Eden BONG Chun Lim
. William KHOO Boo Chuan
Immediate past Committee (2018-2020) (07/11/2020):
President: Dato Sri Robert Jacob RIDU
Vice President: James YONG Shoon Loi
Secretary: Audrey Dominic NENG
Treasurer: Rosemarie WONG Lu Yi
Committee members:
. Arif ARABI
. Francis FREY
. Anna WEE Chiaw Sek
. Donna YONG Siaw Wah
Past Presidents:
(VI-VII) 2016 – 2020 : Dato Sri Robert Jacob Ridu (20/03/2016 – 07/11/2020)
(V) 2014 – 2016 : Karen Shepherd (07/03/2014 – 20/03/2016)
(IV) 2012 – 2014 : Hong Boon Kheng (16/03/2012 – 07/03/2014)
(III) 2010 – 2012 : Joseph Ingai Gasing (05/03/2010 – 16/03/2012)
(II) 2008 – 2010 : Mike Boon Chee Khian (28/03/2008 – 05/03/2010)
(I) 2006 – 2008 : Datu Abang Janalak @Aloysius b. Abg Dris (12/08/2006 – 28/03/2008)
BIOS
PRESIDENT: James YONG
James has a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and MSc in Business Systems Analysis & Design, both from the City University, London, UK. He spent more than three decades working on ICT, finance, strategic planning, business development and business / government consulting in HP, Shell, Cap Gemini, SingTel, NCS and Cisco Systems. Then based out of Singapore, his territory of focus was ASEAN. He was the author of “E-Government in Asia” (Marshall Cavendish, 2005) and three genealogical monographs. After leaving corporate life, James started JYGlobal Associates (www.jyglobal.biz) through which he still consults for select clients. Since returning to Kuching, he spends more time on his interests in history, heritage, genealogy and writing. He is the creator of FB group “Kuching – Then and Now”, which now has almost 10,000 members. James joined the SHS committee in 2017 and was Vice President from 2018.
VICE PRESIDENT : Donna YONG
Donna is a freelance exhibition developer for short-term exhibitions based in Kuching. She was trained as an Interior Designer at Raffles Design Institute in Singapore and has a passion for the local Culture and Heritage. She was part of the architectural team to restore and conserve the General Post Office building in 2012 during her tenure at Building Consult Integrated, Kuching. She also volunteered to work with various organisations, including the Jabatan Museum Sarawak (2016), Pustaka Negeri Sarawak (2016), and related NGOs. “Our thoughts and emotions were never our own; we think in terms of languages and memories we did not invent, but given to us by our culture, heritage, and society. I believe our rich culture is what defines us as uniquely orang Sarawak.’
SECRETARY: Deborah DRIS
Deborah is currently the Managing Partner for Owl & Badger Research PLT – an independent research company based in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.Prior to that, she was a secondary school teacher for four years and was part of the Teach For Malaysia programme. During that time, Deborah was awarded the Excellent Service Award (Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang) in her second year of teaching. Deborah completed an MSc in Education degree from the University of Edinburgh in 2018. Beyond work, Deborah loves history and runs a casual history club (IG:@untitledhistoryclub) and frequents CrossFit Kuching’s 6am class. She loves Spotify and will not travel without headphones.
TREASURER: Rosemarie WONG
Rosemarie holds a 1st class BA(Hons) degree in Fashion (printed textiles) from St Martins College of Art & Design, London and a Diploma in Interior Design from Chelsea College of Art & Design, London. Professionally, Rosemarie is the Owner, Creative and Project Director of the Ranee Artisan Gallery, a retail platform supporting independent artisans, winner of 2015/2106 Sarawak Hornbill Tourism Award “Most Outstanding Cottage Industry” (Handicraft Outlet). She also works with various longhouse communities to develop handicrafts, and recently won 2018 World Crafts Council Award of Excellence for Handicrafts (South-East Asia Sub-Region) for a product titled “The Magic of Upcycling”. She is the owner and key designer of The Ranee Boutique Suites, a 24-room boutique hotel, and more recently restored a heritage icon, The Marian, now a 40-room Boutique Lodging House and The Granary Kitchen + Bar, a warehouse-style dining hall cum event space, Gold Award winner for Design Excellence, “Green Interior & Adaptive Re-Use” from Malaysian Institute of Interior Design (MIID REKA) Awards 2018. Her strong background in art and design coupled with a sound grasp of commercial realities is instrumental in the conceptualisation and management of the many creative projects.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Angelina (Angie) JONG
A rebel for a cause, Angelina Jong, better known as Angie, believes that what is right can never be wrong. A proud true-blue, born and bred daughter of Sarawak, Angie dabbled into the world of heritage by a twist of events, falling headlong into it and has never turned back since.
Angie is the President and co-founder of the Heritage Society of Rajah Charles Brooke Memorial Hospital (HSoRCBMH) since 2015, which strives to eradicate the stigma and ostracism for Hansen’s Disease within the community. They work towards elevating the wellbeing and livelihood of Hansenites and their generations who currently dwell in a rehabilitation village nearby. HSoRCBMH went through four years of trials and tribulations in order to safeguard the Leprosarium from being demolished and forgotten. They are now proudly a part Sarawak’s latest Heritage Site – safeguarding the only leprosarium in the entire island of Borneo since 1925.
Angie is also the President of Sarawak Physiotherapy Association – a body which has been recently formed in 2018 – to speak out for Sarawak’s physiotherapists who have been side-lined and excluded from various self-developments and career-building activities. 8 months after their inception, they have successfully collaborated with a local university in bringing Sarawak’s first Top-Up Bachelor’s Degree Program in Physiotherapy for working physiotherapists in Sarawak.
Angie is also the author for a book called In The Sanctuary of The Outcasts: Life Within The Rajah Charles Brooke Memorial Leprosarium (2015), and the current sole care-taker of the RCBM Mini Museum.
Her interest in heritage embraces not only on the physical structures, but also on its cultural aspects with particular interest in the dying arts and rituals of Sarawak. She hopes that all will not be lost in the name of modernization, but can and will be inculcated within the hearts of each Sarawakian, young and old.
“Our roots are our identity”.
Arif ARABI
A semi-retired company executive having worked with foreign multinational companies almost his entire adult life. Currently serving as a Public Affairs Advisor in a Japanese start-up company in Samalaju Industrial Park. Other activities include : member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Kuching, a founding and life member of Dyslexia Association of Sarawak, life member of Sarawak Association for Mentally Challenged Children, and Secretary of Samalaju Investors Industrial Association. An amateur photographer with a passion for building – new and old, and birds.
Dr Atta Idrawani Bin ZAINI
Dr Atta Idrawani bin Zaini is Head of Department and lecturer at the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). He holds a PhD in Architecture (dissertation on architectural representation in Virtual Reality) from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Trained as an architect, his special interest in the linkage between media and architecture has not stopped him from expanding his knowledge into his other major interests – urban design and design history, with special emphasis on Borneo and Sarawak architecture in particular.
Eden BONG
Eden Bong, of Kuching is currently doing analytical work in tourism field. He is a licensed tourist guide as well. Eden’s interest includes heritage in tourism and he hopes to work on integrating the subject of Sarawak heritage into tourism and see how it can help to preserve cultural heritage in Sarawak.
William KHOO
William Khoo Boo Chuan is a Penangite by birth and a Sarawakian by circumstance. He is a trained architect by profession, having graduated from the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 1989. Since his graduation, he had moved to Kuching for work and has since made Kuching his home for the last 30 years. He is happily married to Jacqueline Lam, also a Penangite and have 2 daughters, both of whom were born and bred Sarawakians.
William is the director of Kuching architectural firm Design Network Architects. (DNA). He has a keen interest with regards to the built heritage of Sarawak especially, Kuching and has been an active member of the Sarawakian fraternity of architects dealing with the development of Kuching urban township, even in Sibu and Miri. William has been actively involved albeit in the background, assisting SHS in previous years as advisor on issues related to urban planning, architecture and the built heritage.
0> Return to main About page