Stephen Yong Kuet Tze was born in 1921 in the Simunjan district in Samarahan and educated at Tai Tung School (the current Chung Hua Simunjan school). He received his Higher School Certificate from St Thomas’s Secondary School in Kuching and worked as a teacher there until the Japanese invasion. After a foray into business, he left to study law in London in the 1950s and returned in 1954 to become Sarawak’s first certified lawyer. His law firm, originally located on India Street, moved to No. 19 Main Bazaar around 1968.
He made his political debut in 1956 when he was elected to the Kuching Municipal Council in its first direct election. In 1959 he along with Ong Kee Hui, Chan Siaw Hee, Song Thian Chiok and others formed Sarawak’s first local political party, the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party. Stephen Yong served as its secretary-general for 23 years, during the crucial period of anti-colonial movements and the formation of Malaysia. He was later elected its chair in 1982.
Over a long career in politics, Stephen Yong held in turn the posts of Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister, Kuching Municipal Council Chair and federal Minister of Science, Technology and Environment. For his service, he was awarded the title of Datuk Amar by Sarawak and the title of Tan Sri by the Malaysian sovereign. His political career drew to a close following a defeat at the 1990 Malaysian General Election. He passed away in 2001, aged 80.
丹斯里拿督阿玛杨国斯
砂拉越首位执业律师杨国斯在1921年出生于实文然，在大同学校（今实文然中公）接受启蒙教育，而后在圣多玛中学就读并考取了英文高级剑桥文凭，毕业后曾经在母校执教一段时日，随即遇上了二战暴发。战后，他曾经从商，接着在1950年代前往伦敦修读法律，1954年毕业返国后成为执业律师，律师楼最初开在印度街，1968年前后搬迁到海唇街19号。
1956年，他初试啼声，参与古晋市议会直选，胜选成为市议员，正式进入政坛。1959年，杨国斯和王其辉、田绍熙、宋天祝等，筹组砂拉越人民联合党，这是砂拉越第一个本土政党。杨国斯出任党秘书长长达23年，在反帝反殖时期肩负重责大任，是立国时期非常重要的政治人物。
丹斯里拿督阿玛杨国斯倍受百姓爱戴和尊敬，他先后出任砂拉越副首席部长、古晋市议会主席和联邦科学工艺与环境部长，并在1982年接任人联党主席。可惜的是，在1990年的国会选举中，不幸落败，就此退出政坛。2001年，他与世长辞，享寿80岁。
