Johnny Bob Aput
KUCHING: State Reform Party (STAR) chairman Johnny Bob Aput, 54, passed away on Saturday afternoon, believed to be due to heart failure.
The matter was confirmed by STAR president Lina Soo through a status update on her Facebook account on Saturday evening.
Johnny was an opposition candidate who contested against Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu in a three-corner contest during the Tanjung Datu by-election on Feb 18 this year.
Soo described Johnny, better known as Bob to his friends, as someone who never shied away from a political challenge and was always there for the party through thick and thin.
“His ideals of a multi-racial Sarawak where every Sarawakian has a place and every one of us deserves to live in peace, justice and harmony, will live on through the party to inspire us,” she said on her Facebook page.
State Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chairman Baru Bian conveyed the party’s deepest sympathy and condolences to Johnny’s family and STAR.
“Whatever it is, our stand is of course we share in the grief.
“We are aware that one of their struggles too is for the rights of Sarawakians. I think we do share in that kind of dream, vision and struggle. So we would like to convey our condolences to them.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Action Party (DAP) Serian branch chairman Edward Andrew Luak said Johnny was a close family friend.
“He and his wife were picking up granites to fill up potholes when he complained of pain at the back of his neck. His wife massaged the back of his neck even while he went to sit in his four-wheel drive (vehicle). He breathed his last and his wife went to seek help,” Luak recounted.
Luak added that Johnny had a heart by-pass operation a few years ago and was advised not to carry heavy loads.
Johnny was laid to rest at Kampung Paun Gahat Christian cemetery yesterday.