Dayak leaders unnecessarily get agitated

KUCHING: Dayak leaders unnecessarily get agitated over articles written by missionary workers portraying Ibans of loose morals whose diet include leeches, ants and bee pupae.

According to an article written by Henry Ng which appeared in the Asian Beacon, the Ibans generally enjoy smoking and drinking, and they often get drunk during festive seasons or special occasions like wedding.

"They are also inclined to be immoral. I have seen men from another longhouse entering a different longhouse to look for women. After drinking tuak or rice wine, the inhabitations are lowered and sexual activities are common. Mothers are known to have offered their daughters for sex in the hope that the men  will marry their daughters," he wrote.

While I do not agree with the observations that mothers are known to have offered their daughters for sex in the hope that the men will marry their daughters, it is certainly true to say that men from another longhouse entering a different longhouse looking for women. This is called NGAYAP. Although it is not practised in longhousses near towns and cities, it is still practised in longhouses in remote areas.

It is also true to say that Ibans eat leeches (lelitak, a family of the leeches, and temeloh, a type of leeches found in tree holes in the river), ants (red ants called kesa) sago worms (called tindoh, singkit or ulat mulong), eat snakes (ular sawa, paie, etc) and pupae (anak manyi).

Not only Ibans eat all these, other races also eat these delicacies.  So there is nothig to be ashamed of. Writers like Ng and Christopher Chong may try to humiliate us, but we will not die. So no need for Dayak leaders to over-react.

Our leaders should be more concerned with bigger issues such as poverty, suppression  and oppression of the Ibans in the civil service, scholarships, education, lack of business opportunities, and the robbing of  their native customary rights lands by big companies.

Their land is their life. Take away their land, they will just be like fish without water. Soon Ibans from the rural areas are forced to  abandon their lands. (Infact somehave been forced out, but they fight by brinking their cases to court.)

All the Dayak leaders should come together and make their stand as they did against the writers of the Asian Beacon who portray Ibans as eating leeches,worms and bee pupae.

Regretably, they are the ones who not only  help the companies to land-grab the NCR land from the Ibans,but they themselves are directly robbing their fellow brothers of their land. 

Should Dayak Ibans continue to build longhouses?

Sidi Munan, President of Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA), in his weekly column, UNCLE DI, in the Sunday Borneo Post, posed this question.

“If we are really concerned with the regular occurrences of fires, let us brainstorm these questions: Should or should not the Dayak Ibans continue to build longhouses? Will it not be more sensible or practical of them to opt for single houses?

He listed the following points in favour of single houses:

1. Reduce the risk of mass destruction by fire,
2. Easier to keep clean,
3. Freedom of choice for the individual in terms of size of room,
4. Freedom of choice of colour of the walls or the roof,
5. Sufficient space for landscape suited to individual taste, and
6. Animal rearing and protection- fencing.

The following points in favour of building new longhouses:

1. Cultural heritage,
2. Ample space for observation of customs and traditional practices,
3. Security of inhabitants under one roof, and
4. Close rapport among inhabitants.

Sidi suggested that Government should conduct a series of seminars during which frank views are allowed in respect of the merits and demerits of the above questions.

“Invite representative of the victims of recent fires as participants, community leaders, representatives from the Ministry of Housing and the Bomba to these talks. Local architects and insurance agents may be interested to observe the proceedings.

“During the seminars causes of fires in each particular case – human carelessness, defective wiring, etc may be disclosed. Their effects are not hard to imagine.

“We are not, by any stretch of the imagination, suggesting that the existing longhouse should be pulled down. We are talking about a ban on constructing NEW buildings,” he said and added: “These are some of my views. Your views could well be much better than mine”. – The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

Iban Student deprived of her rights

It is indeed a sad story of a student, Nadia Selimin, who scored 9As and a B in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) early this year, but denied entry to further her studies at Kolej Matrikulasi just because her mother is a Chinese. Her father is an Iban, Selimin Kring.

Sad, because there is such a thing as prejudice being practised in Malaysia, despite the fact that we are supposed to be in the 21st century and has been independent for 46 years in the federation of Malaysia.

Her plight was brought up YB Mong Dagang, State assemblyman for Bukit Begunan at the Dewan Undangan Negeri meeting.

In fact under PM Najib Razak’s “One Malaysia” concept such prejudice should no longer exist. But yet Nadia’s case is a tip of the iceberg. There are many more silent sufferers of this biased policy of the government.

Under the Sarawak Interpretation Ordinance, Nadia is a Dayak Iban and as such she should be entitled to any privileges as spelt out in Article 39 of the State Constitution or Article 153 of the Federal Constitution read together with Article 161A of the same Constitution.

We would have thought that the special position and privileges of the Natives are fully guaranteed under the Supreme Law of the country. But that is not so as the case of Nadia clearly shows.

What should we do to rectify this anomaly? Can suing the authority concerned of any help? Or bring her case to higher authorities? Or through our respective YBs?

At least in the case of Nadia I think we have to thank YB Mong for highlighting her plight. We need more YBs like him who are not ashamed to be called Dayaks to highlight Dayak problems. – The Broken Shield

News from Batang Ai (Part 13)

The daily update of news

from Batang Ai by-election

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1. Ambrose Labang resigns from PKR

Julau division chairman of PKR Ambrose Labang and his deputy, secretary and a committee member resigned today from Parti Keadilan Rakyat. He went to the BN operations centre at Batang Ai just to announce their resignations.

The three others are Wong Kee Kai (deputy), Kajang Unan (secretary) and Kundi Untung (a committee member).

He said that the PKR would never be able to carry out development programmes or help the people. People in the rural areas need the BN as such they should not waste their times any more with PKR.

Well, actually it is good that Ambrose Labang resigning from PKR so that it can find better candidates for Meluan and Pakan constituencies, because if we sabong this “manok labang”, he has no “tuah”, except “tuah chelaka”.


2. Tan Sri Khalid, Menteri Besar Selangor, visits Lubok Antu again

Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, arrived this evening (5 April) at Batang Ai and his programme is to campaign at Mepi Pasir tonight. Early in the afternoon he campaigned at Changkol.

This is Tan Sri’s second visit. His first visit was on nomination day (29 March). Tan Sri Khalid is very determined to see that Dayak rights are returned to the Dayaks, but what is sad is that, not many Dayaks who have been vocal all this while, are seen at the Batang Ai. Jawah needs all of us to help him defend Dayak rights.


3. Jabu eats his own words

Deputy president of PBB Alfred Jabu anak Numpang last month accused de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Anwar Ibrahim of disrespecting the Iban Adat when visiting a longhouse. As a result, Jabu said one person died.

The Iban adat is that when a visitor of high standing visits a longhouse he must be accorded an Iban adat including miring (offerings) and genselan (part of the offerinfgs), so that his visit to the longhouse will bring luck to the longhouse folks. Fair enough.

Now, so many “outsiders” including a number of federal ministers have come to the longhouse to “mess with the Ibans” (to borrow Jabu’s words). The question is: did Jabu arrange these VIPs to undergo these miring and genselan rites? If not why not? For genselan (slaughtering of animals to clean the feet) the Ibans normally used a pig. For a non-Iban could a cow or goat be used?

Genselan is also used to see the liver of the pig. If the liver is long and sharp, it can mean a good omen; a dull and short mean bad luck. BN candidate on the nomination day did use a pig as genselan. Its liver was not seen and further more when Mussen speared the pig, the pig came out a live? Could it mean a bad luck?


4. Final push to win votes

If your read today’s The Borneo Post, all the pages were covered by pro-BM news, indicating a “confirmed” victory for the BN. “BN will win Batang Ai” says the heading in the Post which quoted UMNO vice president Mohd. Shafie Apdal as saying.

Yes for sure, Jawah Gerang is an underdog, but he may spring the biggest surprise. Wait until 8.00 pm on 7 April.

More news to come...stay tune to www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com