Who says Dayaks still lagging behind, poorest community? Not true at all!
Look at Dayak YBs all super rich jutawan kaya raya lah! Big joker lah this Leo Moggie!
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Dayaks lagging behind other bumiputeras: Moggie
by Tony Thien, Malaysia Kini,17 Feb 2003
The launch of the Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA) by Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud last weekend is seen as a move to bring in all Dayak leaders and intellectuals together on a non-partisan platform to discuss policies and issues affecting the community.
It is also seen as a bridge across the political divide among the Dayak community, recognised as a minority group in Malaysia, to address the problems facing the community in joining the mainstream of economic development.
The association, whose president is Professor Dr Dimbab Ngibang of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, has received overwhelming response from Dayak intellectuals representing the various groups such as Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu.
In Sarawak, the Dayak form the largest single racial group, followed by the Chinese, Malays and Melanaus.
In his paper delivered at a SDGA-organised forum on the social transformation of the Dayak, Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Multimedia Leo Moggie – who is also Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) president – highlighted some of the difficulties facing the Dayaks today.
Minimal equity shares
He said: “The achievements of the Dayak, being a minority bumiputera group in the country, are relatively lower than that achieved by other bumiputeras.
“Bumiputera minorities have the highest incidence of poverty, the largest number of poor households, the highest rate of unemployment, and the lowest in educational attainment,” said Moggie.
“In the corporate sector, bumiputera minorities equity share is very minimal.”.
Moggie said the Dayaks must acquire sufficient knowledge to manage the challenges of the new era and benefit from the opportunities available.
However, based on the population census data, he said the Dayaks have yet to respond to the demand of the new economy as reflected by the limited number of skilled and professional Dayaks in all sectors of the economy.
No knowledge of ICT
Equally alarming, he added, was the result of a study on information communication technology (ICT) awareness among the Dayaks.
The study, involving 1,500 Iban “biliks” (individual units of housing in longhouse) in Kuching and Sri Aman, showed that 86 percent have no knowledge of computers, and 88.7 percent have never used a computer.
The study also revealed that 62 percent of respondents do not consider knowledge of computers as a relevant skill for employment.
Moggie also said that the number of Dayaks enrolled in tertiary education and skill-training institutions is relatively low compared to other Malaysians.
He cited the high incidence of school dropouts among the Dayaks as one of the major contributing factors.
“Poor households, and especially those in the rural areas, where students often travel long distances to get to school, are most vulnerable to pulling their children out of school,” said Moggie.
He added: “The low educational level of parents and guardians also contributed to the high incidence of school drop out.”
Parental control over their children, particularly among school boarders, is also weakening because of their sojourn away from their home, he said.
Leonard Linggi Jugah, the former secretary-general of Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), said during the forum’s questions-and-answers session that Dayak political leaders from different parties must sit down more often to discuss the problems affecting the community.
“Examine policies, look at the weaknesses and take them up with the authorities,” he said.
Be more united, Dayak leaders told
His remarks were greeted with loud applause as he named several Dayak leaders who he said should meet more often and discuss matters affecting the Dayak community in Sarawak.
“Dayak leaders in Sarawak should get their act together and identify ways to synergise for the betterment of the bumiputera minority in the new millennium.”
“I would like to call upon all Dayak leaders to take cue from the chief minister’s call and set aside our differences for the common goal of uniting and bringing the community to greater heights.
“I would like to call upon (PBB deputy president and Deputy Chief Minister) Alfred Jabu, LeoMoggie, (Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party president) William Mawan, PBB vice-president and Housing Minister Michael Manyin, (SPDP secretary-general and Assistant Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communications) Dr Judson Tagal to sit down together more often,” he appealed.
Linggi said the Dayak could have achieved greater success if their leaders had been more united, adding that the “community would not be able to fully capitalise on the privileges if they were to continue to do things in their ways.”
Need not depend on family name
In his opening speech, Taib told the Dayaks that they could achieve success in their undertakings without having to depend on family name and influence.
“You don’t have to be the children of an Abang, Wan, Tuanku or Penghulu to be successful in life because intellectual prowess and opportunities do not recognise this,” the chief minister said.
He urged the Dayak community to broaden their social and intellectual horizons by grabbing the opportunity
to acquire a good education that would enable them to become part of the globalised world.
“That is why it’s important we create mobility in society, both physically and socially so that we can move in tandem with changing times and make adjustments to meet the needs of our ever changing world,” he added.
“Every race can look after itself now and people can feel the change creeping in… faster and faster by the day.”
Reminding the people of the challenges posed by the borderless world and emerging new economic dragons, he said changes had to come from within the people “because government efforts alone are not enough, reaching only the very select group that lies on the surface of interaction.”