Wahab Dolah

Wahab Dolah was born on 15 November 1950 at Kampung Tian, Matu, Sarawak. He had nine siblings namely Rapiah, Jemani, Jamilah, Telaman, Ali Mat,[2] Mariam, Nasibah and Sa'id.[3] He firstly began his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Bawang Tian, Matu before furthering his studies in different secondary schools such as Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Luar Bandar Sibu, Sibu, SMK Penghulu Kedit, Kanowit and Kolej Tun Datuk Tuanku Haji Bujang in Tanjung Lobang, Miri.

He later pursued his higher education at University of Western Australia (under the Colombo Plan scholarship[4]) and graduated in 1969 with a bachelor's degree of Civil Engineering.[5]

After finishing his studies, Wahab firstly worked at Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) as an Regional Engineer in Sarikei until 1975. In 1976, Wahab was appointed as production manager at Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) until 1977. His big break came when he ventured to the private sector by working at a company known as WHS Consultant (Civil Engineering Consultant Firm) from 1978 until 1984.

Whilst working at the WHS Consultant firm, Wahab was courted by Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu's (PBB) party leadership, to contest the Sarawak 4th state elections in 1984 for the N.24 Matu-Daro state constituency. Being regarded as a prominent public figure in his hometown, Wahab won the seat uncontested in 1984.

For the next 4 state elections (1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001), Wahab successfully retain his seat as its representative [5] after beating former Chief Minister of Sarawak and Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Abdul Rahman Ya'kub with a majority of 1625 votes.[6][7]

Before entering the federal Parliament, Wahab was active in Sarawak state politics, serving as a State Assemblyman for the seat of Matu-Daro from 1984,[8] and as a member of the Sarawak Cabinet.[9] He resigned from the State Cabinet in 2004,[10] when he was elected to federal Parliament for the seat of Kuala Rajang.[11] In the 2008 election he moved to the newly created seat of Igan.[12] Both his 2004 and 2008 elections were unopposed.[13] In 2013, he faced his first electoral opposition, a Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) candidate whom he defeated with almost 87% of the vote.[14]