KANOWIT: Since 1979, Datuk Gramong Juna carried the same leather briefcase to nomination day.
Over the course of eight state elections, the weathered briefcase was used to carry his documents to the nomination centre.
This year, it held someone else’s nomination papers – that of his youngest son Allan Siden Gramong.
At 30, the baby of Team Adenan, Allan Siden is anxious to match his father's 38 years of excellent service in the Machan constituency.
"But first let me win this election with a big majority please," said the youngest of the four children of Datuk Gramong Juna, who has held the seat since 1979.
He said he had been following his father on visits around Machan the last 14 years, especially to the more than 170 longhouses in the area.
"The impression I carry with me still is that my father was very patient in dealing with the people and very passionate about their welfare," he added.
Siden said he knew very well the expectations and hopes of the 10,947 registered voters, 70 per cent of whom are Ibans, 28 per cent Chinese and two per cent Malays.
The 69-year-old Gramong said he forwarded several names for consideration as his replacement to the state Barisan Nasional when he decided to retire from active politics.
"They were very good potential candidates. The Chief Minister himself made the final decision," said the former headmaster who entered politics at the age of 32.
Although keen to make his own mark, Allan Siden, a Bachelor of Arts graduate from Limkokwing University who is a member of the PBB Youth Central Committee, is the first to admit that he has a tough act to follow.
His father recalled: "When I first started, we did not have that many roads or amenities. Malnutrition was high and so was illiteracy."
"Now 70 per cent of the people enjoy power from the state grid, 60 per cent have access to treated water and about three quarters of the area are connected by road. The number of graduates is increasing yearly," Gramong Juna said.
"We also have the first commercial Native Customary Right land development in the state covering over 15,000 hectares and benefitting 2,000 participants.
"The purchasing power has increased a great deal. The people now cook with gas stoves instead of using firewood. Life conveniences such as refrigerators, motorcycles and even cars are common now. Some individual family units in longhouses are air-conditioned."
Gramong Juna said there were still backwater areas such as Ulu Poi and Ulu Machan that still needed a lot of attention.
"We need to spend more to bring development there because of the location and difficult terrain. But development will come under BN. So it is very important that Machan continues to be under BN rule," he said, alluding to the three-cornered contest against PKR candidate Chen Nguk Fa and Independent Semawi anak Paong.
Gramong Juna said he hoped the old briefcase would serve Allan Siden well.
"I hope it will bring him the luck and success it had given me," he said. --Bernama