From longhouse to capital

"In this personal recollection of the main events in his life, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Leo Moggie brings to life the atmosphere of his early upbringing against a backdrop of nature and subsistence farming in the interior of Sarawak; his formal education in a number of boarding schools in Sarawak's main towns, separated from his family from a young age; his early career as a civil servant in Sarawak; and, after entering politics, his rapid rise to assemblyman, Member of Parliament, Sarawak state minister and federal cabinet minister. Well known for his cool persona--composed, confident and down to earth--Leo Moggie's humble beginnings and his Dayak roots were to influence the way he performed his various roles and duties, initially as the district officer of Kapit where his main means of transport around his district was by longboat up often-treacherous rivers, his keen interest in the welfare of his constituents regardless of their native ethnicity, his loyalty to his political party colleagues and his ability to negotiate the shifting sands of Sarawak politics. In the way that the pages of a history book can never aspire to do, he conjures up the atmosphere and excitement of Sarawakian and federal politics. These recollections also document the incredible changes and challenges that took place during the author's three tenures as Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Posts (later Multimedia) and Minister of Works, among them the Bakun hydropower scheme, the privatisation of telecommunication services, the construction of the North-South and East-West Highways, the building of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the implementation of the Multimedia Super Corridor. The book is enhanced with a collection of photographs illustrating the author's personal and professional journey"--back cover.