Joseph Salang Gandum
Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum (born 1 January 1951) is a Malaysian politician and former bank officer who served as the Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture, Deputy Minister of Energy, Water and Communications and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib Razak and former Ministers Rais Yatim, Shaziman Abu Mansor and Syed Hamid Albar from March 2004 to May 2013 as well as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Julau from November 1999 to May 2018. He is a member of the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), a component party of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and formerly BN coalitions and was a member of the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), also a component party of the BN coalition. He has served as the 2nd President of PRS since October 2021, when he has served in official capacity since April 2022 and in acting capacity from October 2021 to April 2022. He also served as the Deputy President of PRS from October 2018 to his official promotion to the party presidency in April 2022 and Secretary-General of PRS from October 2016 to his promotion to party deputy presidency in October 2018. He was also Vice President of PRS.
Yang Berbahagia Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum DSPN PGBK AMN | |
|---|---|
| Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture | |
| In office 27 March 2008 – 15 May 2013 Serving with Heng Seai Kie (2008–2010) & Maglin Dennis d'Cruz (2010–2013) | |
| Monarchs | Mizan Zainal Abidin (2008–2011) Abdul Halim (2011–2013) |
| Prime Minister | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Najib Razak |
| Minister | Rais Yatim |
| Preceded by | Himself (Communication) Tan Lian Hoe (Information) Teng Boon Soon (Culture) |
| Succeeded by | Jailani Johari (Communication) Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Culture) |
| Constituency | Julau |
| Deputy Minister of Energy, Water and Communications | |
| In office 19 March – 27 March 2008 | |
| Monarch | Mizan Zainal Abidin |
| Prime Minister | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
| Minister | Shaziman Abu Mansor |
| Preceded by | Shaziman Abu Mansor |
| Succeeded by | Himself (Communications) Noriah Kasnon (Energy, Water) |
| Constituency | Julau |
| Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 27 March 2004 – 18 March 2008 | |
| Monarchs | Sirajuddin (2004–2006) Mizan Zainal Abidin (2006–2008) |
| Prime Minister | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
| Minister | Syed Hamid Albar |
| Preceded by | Leo Michael Toyad |
| Succeeded by | Abdul Rahim Bakri |
| Constituency | Julau |
| Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Julau | |
| In office 29 November 1999 – 9 May 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Sng Chee Hua (BN–PBDS) |
| Succeeded by | Larry Sng Wei Shien (Independent) |
| Majority | 6,286 (1999) 2,688 (2004) 7,584 (2008) 5,955 (2013) |
| 2nd President of the Parti Rakyat Sarawak | |
| Assumed office 31 October 2021 Acting:31 October 2021–25 April 2022 | |
| Deputy | Majang Renggi |
| Preceded by | James Jemut Masing |
| Deputy President of the Parti Rakyat Sarawak | |
| In office 20 October 2018 – 25 April 2022 | |
| President | James Jemut Masing (2018–2021) Himself (Acting, 2021–2022) |
| Preceded by | Joseph Entulu Belaun |
| Succeeded by | Majang Renggi |
| Secretary-General of the Parti Rakyat Sarawak | |
| In office 25 October 2016 – 20 October 2018 | |
| President | James Jemut Masing |
| Succeeded by | Janang Bungsu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 January 1951 Crown Colony of Sarawak (now Sarawak, Malaysia) |
| Political party | Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) |
| Other political affiliations | Barisan Nasional (BN) (–2018, aligned:since 2020) Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) (since 2018) Perikatan Nasional (PN) (aligned:since 2020) |
| Spouse | Lucy Hon |
| Occupation | Politician |
Salang was a bank officer before entering politics. He was elected to Parliament in the 1999 election. He was originally a member (and deputy president) of the Sarawak Native People's Party (PBDS), but sat in Parliament without a party after the PBDS was deregistered in 2004. He eventually joined the PRS ahead of the 2008 election.
Salang has served in a number of government posts, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Minister of Energy, Water and Communications, and Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture. He turned down reappointment to the deputy ministry after the 2013 election.