Joseph Salang Gandum

Joseph Salang Gandum
Born	(1951-01-01) January 1, 1951 Sarawak, Malaysia
Occupation(s)	Politician, former banking professional
Years active	1999–2018 (Member of Parliament)
Known for	Deputy ministerial roles in Information, Communications and Culture; Energy, Water and Communications; Foreign Affairs; President of Parti Rakyat Sarawak

Joseph Salang Gandum (born 1 January 1951) is a Malaysian political figure and former banking professional who held deputy ministerial positions across several departments, including Information, Communications and Culture; Energy, Water and Communications; and Foreign Affairs. His service spanned the administrations of Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak from 2004 until 2013. He represented the Julau constituency as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1999 through 2018.

Affiliated with the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), a component party within the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition and previously part of Barisan Nasional (BN), Salang has led PRS as its President since October 2021. Prior to this role, he served as Deputy President from 2018 to 2021 and Secretary-General between 2016 and 2018. Earlier in his political career, he was associated with the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), also under the BN umbrella.

Salang transitioned from a banking career into politics, securing a parliamentary seat in 1999 initially as a PBDS candidate. Following PBDS’s deregistration in 2004, he served as an independent MP before joining PRS ahead of the 2008 general election.

During his tenure in politics, Salang occupied significant deputy minister roles overseeing Foreign Affairs, Energy and Communications, as well as Information and Culture portfolios. Following the 2013 general election, he opted not to accept another deputy ministerial appointment.

Election results

{{- 2018 Malaysian general election#2018 }} {{- 2022 Malaysian general election#2022 }} {{- 2022 Malaysian general election#2022 }} {{- 2022 Malaysian general election#2022 }}

Honours

• :
  • Awarded Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) in 2000
• :
  • Conferred Officer of the Order of the Defender of State (DSPN), granting the title Dato in 2003
• :
  • Bestowed Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (PGBK), carrying the title Datuk in 2011

References

Parliament of Malaysia

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1999	P182 Julau	rowspan="3" Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional |	Joseph Salang Gandum (PBDS)	9,183	66.99%	Template:Party shading/Independent |	Kong Ah Huat (IND)	2,897	21.14%	13,707	6,286	75.55%
		Template:Party shading/Independent |				Samuel Edward Chun (IND)	844	6.16%
		Template:Party shading/Independent |				Patrick Mit @ Dumit Tutong (IND)	483	3.52%
2004	P208 Julau	Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional |	Joseph Salang Gandum (PBDS)	8,388	58.78%	Template:Party shading/Independent |	Randan Mawat (IND)	5,700	39.94%	14,271	2,688	72.20%
2008	P209 Julau	Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional |	Joseph Salang Gandum (PRS)	10,351	77.75%	Template:Party shading/Keadilan |	Labang Jamba (PKR)	2,767	20.78%	13,313	7,584	65.56%
2013		rowspan="2" Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional |	Joseph Salang Gandum (PRS)	9,891	58.27%		Wong Judat (SWP)	3,936	23.19%	16,973	5,955	75.36%
		Template:Party shading/Keadilan |				Wong Hong Yu (PKR)	2,852	16.80%