Eight decades, one remarkable journey

KUCHING : From the jungles of Sarawak, where he confronted communist insurgents as a young police officer, to the highest constitutional office in his home state, Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar’s eight-decade journey has taken him through the police force, legal practice, politics, Cabinet and Parliament.

Born on February 1, 1946 in Kampung Pendam, now part of Sadong Jaya, Wan Junaidi turns 80 this year – a milestone that comes as he enters his third year as Sarawak’s eighth Head of State.

His path to the Astana Negeri was neither direct nor conventional. It began in a rural Sarawak community and took him into the Royal Malaysia Police at a time when the country was grappling with communist insurgency, before leading him to England to study law and eventually into national politics.

Wan Junaidi received his early education at Sekolah Rakyat Kampung Pendam from 1956 to 1958, followed by Sekolah Abang Man in Simunjan from 1959 to 1960 and Madrasah Melayu in Kuching from 1961 to 1963. He later completed his Form Five and Form Six studies through correspondence with Stamford College, Singapore, between 1974 and 1977.

In March 1964, at the age of 18, he joined the Royal Malaysia Police. Four years later, he was transferred to the Police Field Force, serving in Miri and the Rajang Area Security Command (Rascom) until 1973.

Those years in the jungle would leave a lasting imprint on him.

In a recent interview with Bernama, Wan Junaidi recalled an operation in Tulai, Sarawak, in 1971 in which Constable Jabu Ajai was killed during an encounter with communist insurgents. Wan Junaidi, then an inspector leading the platoon, recalled how the incident taught him lessons about responsibility, leadership, discipline and humanity.

One of the defining moments came after Jabu was shot. As emotions ran high, a fellow policeman wanted to retaliate against civilians found at a nearby house. Wan Junaidi intervened, insisting that the children at the house could not be harmed even though the adults were suspected of links to the insurgents.

“Although we knew what their parents had done, we could not kill the children,” he recalled in the interview.

The experience also shaped his understanding of leadership. He recalled learning to respect the beliefs and concerns of members of his multi-ethnic platoon, particularly Iban and Orang Ulu colleagues, and recognising that command was not simply about giving orders.

“The strength of a team is not only in its weapons, but in the confidence and trust between one another,” he was quoted as saying.

After his years in the police force, Wan Junaidi turned towards law. In 1978, he went to England to study at the University of Buckingham, earning his Bachelor of Laws before pursuing professional legal studies at the Council of Legal Education in London. He was called to the English Bar in 1982 and, after returning to Sarawak, was called to the Sarawak Bar.

He briefly returned to the police force as chief training officer at the Bukit Siol Police Training School in Kuching and later served as chief police prosecutor of Sarawak. He subsequently resigned to establish his own legal practice, beginning a new chapter that would eventually lead him into politics.

Wan Junaidi inspects the Main Guard of Honour during an event in Kuching. Photo: Ghazali Bujang

His political journey began within Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) in the 1980s. In 1990, he entered Parliament after winning the Batang Lupar seat, which he retained for three terms before moving to Santubong in 2004. He went on to represent Santubong for four consecutive terms, remaining an MP until his retirement from electoral politics in 2022.

His parliamentary career gradually expanded beyond constituency representation. In 2008, he became Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, serving until 2013. He subsequently entered the Federal Cabinet as Deputy Home Minister from 2013 to 2015, followed by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment from 2015 to 2018. He later served as Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives from 2020 to 2021.

His time in the Natural Resources and Environment portfolio placed him in the middle of several national and regional issues, including environmental management and the haze crisis. His career also continued to develop academically: he earned a Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 2005.

But it was his final Cabinet portfolio that brought him into the centre of constitutional and parliamentary reform.

Appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) in 2021, Wan Junaidi was involved in several major constitutional changes. Among them were amendments relating to Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), the implementation of an anti-party-hopping law and reforms connected to the voting age.

In December 2021, Parliament approved amendments to the Federal Constitution concerning the position of Sabah and Sarawak within the Federation. The amendments included changes to Article 1 and Article 160, including the insertion of definitions relating to Malaysia Day and the Federation in line with MA63. The Bill secured more than the required two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

The anti-party-hopping legislation followed in 2022. The Constitution (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 2022 came into force on Oct 5 that year, following parliamentary approval and royal assent.

For Sarawak, the constitutional amendments became an important part of Wan Junaidi’s public record. Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg subsequently described his role in securing the amendment to Article 160 to include MA63, the Cobbold Commission Report and the Inter-Governmental Committee Report as one of his significant contributions.

After leaving electoral politics, Wan Junaidi was not away from public life for long.

On June 19, 2023, he was appointed the 19th President of the Dewan Negara, succeeding Tun Dr Rais Yatim. As Senate president, he placed parliamentary reform high on his agenda, including efforts to revive the Parliamentary Services Act 1963 and strengthen the institutional independence of Parliament.

His tenure in the Senate lasted exactly seven months.

On January 26, 2024, Wan Junaidi received his instrument of appointment as the eighth Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara. He succeeded the late Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, with his four-year term taking effect from the same day until Jan 26, 2028. He was also conferred the Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara, carrying the title Tun.

The appointment brought his career full circle: the former police officer who once served in the jungles of Sarawak had returned to the state’s highest constitutional office.

Since assuming the position, Wan Junaidi has continued to make public appearances across Sarawak, including engagements with community, religious and civic groups. His tenure has also retained a strong connection with his long-standing interest in constitutional affairs and Sarawak’s position within Malaysia.

Away from government and Parliament, he has maintained interests in writing and scouting. His experiences in the police force were recorded in his 2014 book A Policeman, while his other works include writings on Parliament, law, communication, Sarawak Malay vocabulary and scouting. He was also active in the Scouting Movement from a young age and eventually served as Sarawak Chief Scout Commissioner.

His life has therefore moved through several distinct worlds — the police barracks and jungle operations, the courtroom, the political arena, Cabinet, the chambers of Parliament and finally the Astana.

Each chapter added another dimension to a career that has spanned more than six decades.

At 80, Wan Junaidi now occupies an office very different from the one he entered as an 18-year-old police recruit in 1964. Yet the experiences of those early years remain part of the story of how he arrived there: a boy from Pendam who became a policeman, lawyer, parliamentarian, Cabinet minister, Senate president and, ultimately, the constitutional Head of State of Sarawak.