The award was presented to him on Sunday by longhouse chieftain Awai Anyie when Tiong, who is also a Justice of the Peace, was visiting the native community in conjunction with the current Christmas celebration.

In the presentation, Awai described their legendary hero as an immortal figure who was brave and would stand up for the people even in times of war.

The longhouse chieftain said Tiong deserved the title because he had been championing for them, taking care of their welfare and needs, and had become their personal friend after he was elected their parliamentary representative.

He said Tiong was never too busy for the people and had helped them in various ways to improve their living standard.

Tiong continued with his festive visit to the Kayan community on Sunday, and in the last few days when he mingled with the people, he was warmly received in their traditional way.

In exchanging views with the people, the member of parliament continued to speak out for them and raise the issue of education of the community's children.

He told the parents there that they must check on their children to ensure that they received a good education.

"There is a case in my constituency when a girl staying in school became pregnant. The worst is, the community did not even know the man responsible for it. This made the community very frustrated and angry."

He said the community was now questioning why the school had allowed this to happen when their children were put under their care.

"They are also questioning why there has been a lack of supervision and why the children could be free to go out with the strangers."

Expressing concern, Tiong vowed to carry out a series of actions next year to check on the discipline of the students.

The member of parliament has raised this issue several times in the parliament this year, and with his SPDP members, they had gone out checking on students in the cyber cafes in town.

In meeting the Kayan community on Sunday, Tiong said this was a problem that involved with the youngsters of the country. "We cannot wait until it is too late to act."

He warned that if the adults failed to check on the students, it would be a tragedy when they grew up.

In the festive visits, Tiong also gave out education aids to students who are pursuing the higher education. For the needy primary school students, he gave out them incentives to boost them morally in their studies.

In a dialogue, Tiong was disappointed that the single mothers there who had sought help with the Welfare Department had been neglected.

He said there had been complaints of unfriendly services when the single parents looked for these officers.

"I am telling these officers. If you cannot perform your duty well to serve the community, you should not be there. Bintulu is not a dumping ground for inefficient officers."

The member of parliament vowed to bring this to the attention of the parliament, saying that he was utterly disappointed.

He said the prime minister and the chief minister were both efficient and capable leaders with a heart for the people.

"In the parliament, a nice picture has been painted about how the government will help single mothers. But, when it comes to the ground in Bintulu, I am shocked of how these rural parents have been treated."

He said welfare officers must be ones with a benevolent heart to help the needy. "They should be there to listen and help, If their requests cannot be made, this should be explained to them politely."

He said among a case was that of an old man who had applied for help but was treated rudely.

He said there had been cases where applicants had gone to his service centre for recommendation letters.

Upon enquiry, he said the applicants said they had been told that without the letters, they could not apply.

Tiong hoped the civil servants would not resent the politicians. He said when people looked for them for help, they should not cast sarcastic remarks on the politicians in front of these people."

On the NCR land issue involving the people, he said there was a case that had gone to the court and the developer and the residents must abide by the court ruling.

He called for a peaceful deal between the two parties, and he hoped the developer would not forcefully make their way in to pull down the longhouse of a community of more than 30.

"An appeal from the affected residents has come to the SPDP. We are now sending our lawyer to negotiate with the developer's legal representative.

"Let there be a peaceful deal and I hope not to see the situation aggravated."

In the festive visit, Tiong granted the community of Rumah Stephen Anyie RM20,000 for community development, RM2,000 to Rumah Awai Anyie for festive celebration and another RM20,000 to the latter longhouse for repairs and building purposes.