SIDS In Good Position To Empower Dayak Women

SIBU: Sarakup Induk Dayak Sarawak (SIDS) Sibu has been playing a crucial role in empowering Dayak women, enabling them to better participate in nation building.

Speaking at the closing of its Sibu branch’s 21st AGM here yesterday, Local Government and Community Development and Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said it helped equip women with the necessary knowledge and skills to move forward.

“I am glad that SIDS Sibu branch under the exco led by the capable leadership of Alice Jawan is trying its best to help our Dayak women in various ways to bring them to higher level of knowledge and skills in managing so many other things,” Wong, who is a Senior Minister, said in giving SIDS Sibu a pat on the back.

He stressed that it was important for the organisation to grow from strength to strength as it played an important role in the community, particularly in nation building, more so with the rapid pace of development.

Wong, who is Bawang Assan assemblyman, also impressed on those present the importance of education.

He stressed that with education, parents would be able to bring up their children in a more proper way, adding that education determines the wellbeing of each individual.

“It also decides the wellbeing of the community and for that matter, the entire nation.”

He recalled how the former prime minister when propagating Vision 2020, described education as investment into the future.

Quoting Dr Mahathir, he said: “There is no country in this world which is education poor can be rich. On the other hand, there is no country in this world that is rich in education can be poor and vice-versa.”

Hence, he said this was true not only for the nation or community but also for each individual, given the highly competitive environment.

“In this highly competitive world, when we are not knowledgeable and skilful, we stand less chance of being successful,” Wong said.

Towards this end, he noted that mothers played a key role in building a strong family institution, saying “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”.

Later, Wong announced a grant of RM10,000 for SIDS Sibu branch to carry out its activities.

Meanwhile, Alice recalled that the local branch was set up back in 1989.

Currently, they have 1,360 members, she said.

“Among the main objectives of SIDS is to promote education and expand knowledge. We are constantly empowering women through education,” she added.

The new committee line-up for 2013-2015 are chairman (Alice), vice-chairman (Catherine Kundau), secretary (Angelyn Uchi Maseng), assistant secretary (Teresa Suli Noel), treasurer (Monica Giri), assistant treasurer (Magdalene Sinah) and committee members: Michelle Hildalyne Anthony, Magdeline Sigi, Rosalind Sandah, Priscilla Bunsi David and Claudin Dieo.

Awards were also given out to members’ children who excelled in their recent public examinations.

Source from The Borneo Post : http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/03/17/sids-in-good-position-to-empower-dayak-women/#ixzz2Nlh1qmVN

The Iban’s – “A Strong & Successful Warring Tribe In Ancient Times” – The Untold History

The Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. The original ancestors of Iban people is originated from Yunnan province China where they migrated to Taiwan and to The Philippines and to Indonesia . In Malaysia, most Ibans are located in Sarawak and a small portion in Sabah. They were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans were renowned for practising headhunting and tribal/territorial expansion and had a fearsome reputation as a strong and successful warring tribe in ancient times.

According to oral histories, the Iban arrived in western Sarawak from Indonesia about 1675. After an initial phase of colonising and settling the river valleys, displacing or absorbing the local populations of Bukitans and Serus, a phase of internecine warfare began. Local leaders were forced to resist the tax collectors of the Sultan of Brunei. At the same time, Malay influence is felt, and Iban leaders begin to be known by Malay titles like Orang Kaya. The Bajau and Illanun, coming in galleys from the Philippines plundered in Borneo and were fought by the Iban, for example by the famous Lebor Menoa from Entanak near modern Betong. Oral history recounts how Lebor Menoa encountered Chinese traders who came in ships to the Saribas in order to sell cooking pots, brass pots, pottery bowls, shell armlets and cowry shells for padi. Besides that, the Ibans were also engaged with the Orang Ulu of northern Sarawak, the Bidayuh of southern Sarawak, the Kantu and other Indonesian ethnic tribes from eastern Sarawak. They managed to control the eastern coastline of Sarawak.

The Malay leader Indra Lela, brother of Lela Wangsa of Lingga and Lela Pelawan incited the Saribas and Skrang Ibans to warfare against the Sebuyau Dayaks in order to control them. The Saribas were led by Orang Kaya Pemancha Dana of the Padeh, in alliance with Linggir Mali Lebu, Bunyau of Entanak and Bulan of Ulu Layar. The Skrang were led by Rentap (Libau), Orang Kaya Gasing and Orang Kaya Ra. About 1834, the Skrang made a raid on Banting Hill, inhabited by Balau Dayaks and Malays, who suffered heavy losses. Three years later, Orang Kaya Pemancha Dana made war on the Undup Ibans who had killed his brother, and utterly defeated them, taking many captives and looting a famous guchi jar that was thought to have magical properties. The surviving Undup Ibans took refuge in the Kapuas valley and Lingga and later settled in the area of Salimbau. Only under the rule of Brooke did they return to Banting hill, which had meanwhile been settled by the Skrang.

The Sebuyau Sea Dayaks under Orang Kaya Temenggong Jugah of Lundu attacked Paku on the Saribas at about the time. He attacked Matop, and most inhabitants fled. Ca. 1838, the Balau Sea Dayaks raided the Saribas, Krian, a place east of the Saribas, and Skrang under the leadership of Lang and his son-in-law Orang Kaya Janting to avenge their previous losses and revenge for their disturbed peace and harmonies lives. As before the Balau Sea Dayak never has make any engagement with any ethnics since they are just a farmers and lives in a peace and prosperity until the attacked of Saribas and Skrang Iban.

The Iban fell under the rule of Rajah James Brooke in 1835. The Iban leader Libau (Rentap) resisted Brooke from his fortress on Mount Sadok. The Ibans of Lingga, the Undup Ibans and the Sebuyau fought for Brooke. Those groups of Iban or sea Dayak are known as traitors to Iban people. Ironically, Rentap received full support from Balau Sea Dayak in his missions against Rajah rather than his own sub ethnics.

Thereafter the Iban became vital allies of the Brooke dynasty, with the defeat of both Rentap and later the last rebel leader Asun. Warfare between Dayak peoples continued to be an intermittent problem for the regime until the Great Peacemaking in Kapit in 1924, when the Rajah Vyner also consolidated the support of the Iban by appointing one of their great war heroes Koh Anak Jubang (1870-1956) Temenggong or paramount chief. Koh became a member of the advisory council of the state, the Council Negri, and converted to Christianity in 1949. He was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Chiefs and the Order of the British Empire.

During the Japanese occupation of Sarawak from 1942-5 the Iban also played a role in guerilla warfare against the occupying forces, particularly in the Kapit Division where headhunting was temporarily revived towards the end of the war. At this time Sarawak came under the temporary military administration of the Australian forces, who were particularly prominent in the liberation of Borneo.

Borneo Oracle ♥ Sarawak History

Source from Borneo Oracle Facebook & the following link : 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iban_people
http://borneoparadise.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/system-of-writing-on-boards-papan-turai/
http://www.actformalaysia.com/2011/09/09/in-search-of-the-headhunting-tribes-of-borneo/

Sarawak Grade 1-40 To Be Filled By Locals

KUCHING: All vacancies in the support group from Grade 1 to Grade 40 in Sarawak will be filled by Sarawakians with immediate effect, said Public Services Commission (SPA) chairman Tan Sri Mahmood Adam.

He said the decision was reached after a meeting held on Tuesday with federal departments in the state and NGOs such as Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association, Sarawak Kayan Association and Sarawak Dayak National Union.

“Following the meeting, we have agreed that all vacancies in Sarawak which are under the SPA will be filled by Sarawakians,” he told reporters afteropening the SPA Sarawak Branch Interview Centre, here, today.     He added that the decision would be more cost effective than appointing someone from outside the state to the position.

He said some of the issues raised during the meeting were that interview locations were too far and the vacancies were not filled by locals.

“The SPA has appointed 15 Dayak representatives to help the commission explain and correct the misconception that the public had on the SPA. In thenext two to three years, we hope to see an increase among the Dayak in joining the civil service,” he said.

Mahmood added that following the meeting, the SPA also agreed to conduct interviews at locations nearest to the candidates as an effort to help reduce the cost borne by the candidates.He said the SPA would continue to resolve issues in the state, using appropriate approaches.

*Source from The Borneo Post : http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/10/31/sarawak-grade-1-40-to-be-filled-by-locals-new/#ixzz2AstA6fup

Masing: A Politician Has Three Ways To Retire

SIBU: Tan Sri Dr James Masing seems to be prepared for the day when he has to finally retire after almost three decades in politics.

Speaking at his party’s eighth anniversary dinner here on Saturday, the PRS president offered advice on retirement to his members that could also apply to him.

Masing said that there were three ways a politician could retire – by natural causes, when they chose to and when voters made the decision for them.

“The third is a bit hard to swallow. There were many instances when politicians refused to retire or they simply failed to read the writings on the wall and overstayed their welcome. Thus when election came they were defeated. The Malaysian political arena is full of politicians who were defeated because they overstayed their welcome,” he said.

“The first method of retiring is not by choice. In fact, we have no choice on the matter. The second method is by choice. We decide when to retire. We as elected representatives must understand that after a few years as YB, we do get tired.

“Therefore, we must work ourselves out of the job. What this means is that we teach others to take over from us, so that even without us the job is done. When we finally retire there is no disruption in the discharging of responsibilities.”

Masing, who is Land Development Minister, said the advantage of politicians deciding for themselves when to retire was that they could prepare themselves, at least mentally.

He said the transition of responsibility from an elected representative to a retiree could be both physically and mentally uncomfortable.

“I have seen and witnessed many cases when our Dayak YBs, who are not ready for retirement but are forced to by circumstances, become resentful of the authority including those who had helped them to attain their position.

“Please note that there is life after politics. But to ensure that such life exists outside politics, we must be mentally prepared for the next phase of our lives. We the YBs have worked so hard for many years for the cause of our people. I am sure we deserve to have time to do things that we want, and most important of all to live a hassle-free life in our twilight years,” he said.

 

*Source from The Star : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/29/sarawak/12239560&sec=sarawak

Masing ‘lacking leadership’?

The Dayak community is not “lacking leadership” and neither is it “fragmented” as claimed by Senior BN Minister James Masing. What it lacks are ‘sincere’ leaders.

Is Senior Minister James Masing’s finally admitting that he ‘lacks leadership’ and is unable to go up against his boss Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s dictatorial rule?
Masing who is the state’s Land Development Minister and president of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), recently told a Gawai Dayak function in Miri that Dayaks “possessed” the largest land bank in the country, but are today ranked as one of the “poorest” communities because they were ‘fragmented’ and suffered from a “lack of leadership”.
This brings in focus veteran leaders such as Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu, who is the deputy president of Taib’s Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) party.
Jabu has been sitting in his post for 38 years and yet his Layar constituency has thousands of natives without clean water and electricity coupled with numerous allegations of land grabs. The situation is not limited to Layar. Vastly rural Sarawak is still without its basic utilities and infrastructure.
Even Masing’s own Baleh constituency is not without native claims of land grabs, deforestation and displacements.
The litany of allegations against Taib’s Dayak cabinet members including Senior Minister William Mawan who is Sarawak Progressive Demcratic Party (SPDP) president and state Infrastructure Development and Communications Minister Michael Manyin (also of PBB) are seemingly endless.
Notwithstanding this are Sarawak’s 14 Dayak MPs (of 31 parliamentarians) which include one full federal minister (Douglas Uggah Embah) and six deputy ministers and its 29 state assemblymen (out of 71 state elected representatives), many of whom have been linked to alleged power abuse and corrupt practices.
Are they all also “lacking” in leadership and subservient to Taib’s over 30-year old ‘politics of development’?
The Dayak leaders ‘aligned’ to Taib, according to widespread reports, are wealthy beyond their ‘wildest dreams’ courtesy of Taib’s ‘benevolence’.

Dayak’s not fragmented
Local senior lawyer Baru Bian, whose firm is inundated with cases involving land grabs, believes that that it is not a ‘lack of leadership’ that is plaguing the Dayak community.
“What we lack are sincere leaders… The only ‘real reason’ standing between Dayaks and progress is “sincerity”.
“The Dayak community is not lacking leadership and neither is it fragmented.
“It is the elite and the Dayak leaders themselves are weak and fragmented.
“In my opinion it is the current leadership which is not sincere in searching for ways to improve the lot of the Dayak communities. These Dayak leaders are dictated by Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
“They are looking into their own interests. They know that Barisan Nasional policies on lands are not favouring the Dayaks but are without any will to oppose Taib,” said Bian who is Ba’ Kelalan assemblyman.
Land was a key issue in last April’s state elections which saw Bian, who is state PKR chief, and his colleagues Ali Biju (Krian) and See Chee Hua (Batu Lintang) wrest their seats from BN. The opposition collectively won 15 seats – DAP took 12 – putting a conspicuous dent to Taib’s unchallenged influence in the State Legislative Assembly.
Alluding to the oppositions overtures to the Dayak community, Masing in his speech last Saturday said the Dayak communities were so fragmented that they had become easy preys for those who wished them ill.
“Dayak communities (comprising Ibans, Bidayuhs and Orang Ulu natives) are actually the biggest groups of natives in the state and possess the most amount of land in the country, yet they remain relatively poor.
“In a nation which prides itself as one of the most progressive in the third world, this should not be a record that the community should continually maintain in the years to come,” he said.
He noted that although the Dayaks are hard working, some of them do not work smart at times.
“There are many of us here tonight who are professionals in our own right. Therefore there is no reason why we cannot pool our expertise to improve the socio-economic standing of our community,” he said.

Taken from Free Malaysia Today news portal : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/07/03/masing-lacking-leadership/