Tourism has increased in recent years: Ba'kelalan now has a 9-hole natural golf course, and the settlement is also the easiest point of access for visits to Kayan Mentarang National Park in Krayan, Kalimantan.
He was elected to the Sarawak State Assembly in April 2011 by winning the Ba’kelalan seat, having defeated the candidate for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, Willie Liau, who is also his nephew, by a narrow 473-vote majority.