It’s true that Dayaks need soul-searching…ask themselves why their Dayak YBs enrich themselves while leaving the rest 850,000 Dayak still poor…very unfair very unfair…
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Dayaks need soul-searching to move forward: Tajem
Bernama News, Aug, 2000
KUCHING, Mon.- The Dayak community in Sarawak need to do a deep examination of themselves if they wish to overcome their weaknesses and catch up with the other races.
Only by identifying their own weaknesses could the Dayaks, who form the majority of Sarawak’s estimated two million people, gather their strengths to move forward.
These were among the first words of newly re-elected Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) deputy president Datuk Daniel Tajem when asked on the achievements of the Dayak community.
“The Dayaks comprising Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu are still lagging behind in all fields, and they need a paradigm shift to be on par with other races,” he told Bernama after the end of the PBDS general assembly here yesterday.
Tajem beat state Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Masing in a straight fight for the number two post which saw a contest for the first time in the party’s 17-year history.
Tajem polled 360 votes against 278 votes obtained by Dr Masing.
Datuk Amar Leo Moggie was returned unopposed as president, a post he held since the party was formed in 1983.
Tajem said the Dayaks clearly lagged behind in the economic, education and social sectors, among others.
The majority of the estimated 3,800 longhouses and Dayak villages in the state were still without electricity and water supply, said Tajem, 64, a former deputy chief minister.
He said the party should have the vision to expand the middle class among the community.
“I am happy if several Dayaks have become millionaires but to strengthen the community’s economic position, the creation of more middle-class Dayaks should be the objective of PBDS this century,” he said.
He said if more Dayaks become entrepreneurs and businessmen, they could set up a Dayak Chamber of Commerce like what has been done by the other communities.
Tajem, who completed his tenure as Malaysian High Commissioner to New Zealand in the middle of this year, said the achievements of Dayaks in education also pale in comparison with those of other races.
He said all Dayak leaders irrespective of which party they are from should make concerted efforts to help improve the performance of Dayak students so that more of them could enter universities.
“I am worried because in the field of information technology, which has become a requirement for every kind of endeavour like studies and business, the Dayak community will continue to be left behind,” he said.
Tajem said whatever the vision for the Dayaks, he could not run away from pondering over the fate of a big section of the community who still live in longhouses and villages in the interior. “With the programmes drawn up by the state government, they can progress but the Dayak community must be given sufficient information on development projects, especially land development,” he said.
One way to further develop the Dayak community was to set up nucleus land development programmes and open up plantations by leasing out Native Customary Rights (NCR) land belonging to Dayaks, he said.
“For a Dayak with 120 acres of land, for example, he can only work on 20 acres the most and the rest can be rented to plantation companies for development of oil palm estates or other crops.
“I am not anti-development but I want every planned development project to be fully understood first by the Dayaks so that they can reap the full benefits,” he said.
Asked on his victory in the party election, Tajem said it was a healthy contest as it offered a new kind of experience to the Dayaks to make them more mature politically.
It afforded them an opportunity to evaluate candidate and pick who they considered the best, and this education process was important as the state election was not far away, he said.
“If we do not allow contests it means we are not giving party members a choice,” said Tajem, adding that he was just defending his post.
“I had served as a state assemblyman, High Commissioner and deputy chief minister, and now I am really free and able to strengthen the party machinery,” said Tajem, a founder of the party.
He dismissed allegations that his decision to defend the post was prompted by his desire to contest the next state election, and hopefully make a return to the state Cabinet.
“My intention is to strengthen the party so that anyone holding a post, like Datuk Moggie, can focus on government duties and not worry about the party,” he said.
Tajem said he wanted PBDS to remain as the vehicle for the Dayak community to unite and contribute to the country in the spirit of cooperation practised by the Barisan National (BN).
Asked on his determination to retain the post as seen from the unveiling of his term for the contest, Tajem said those in his camp comprised professionals in various fields.
“They included businessmen, bank officers, lawyers, housing developers, plantation managers, economists and private company senior executives with vast experience to contribute to the country,” he said.
Tajem, a lawyer knows for his oratorical skills, said the party needed leaders with expertise in various fields to draw up programmes to develop the Dayaks.
“I also want to gather the Dayak intellect and professional groups regardless of their party so that they can server as the think tank to bring the Dayak community to greater heights and contribute to the development of Sarawak and Malaysia,” he said. -BERNAMA