An Incomplete Introduction - Bidayuh Bauh

Posted by YB Golong on August 27, 2003 at 16:04:50:

Dear friends I have the pleasure to share with you my thoughts on the introduction of our new book - Creating a new Bidayuh identity for the 21st Century.
The introduction is incomplete as I am still waiting for three more papers - one from Redline. Please email your comments to me esp. the last section - the Bidayuh Bauh...

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction: A New Bidayuh Identity

Ahi A. Sarok

This monograph Creating the Bidayuh Identity in the 21st Century is actually the outcome of the fourth Bidayuh Cultural Symposium. It deals with the socio-cultural, political, educational and development issues discussed during the fourth Bidayuh Cultural Symposium which was held at Regency Rajah Court Hotel in Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia. The fourth Bidayuh Cultural Symposium was organised in conjunction with the State Ruby Jubilee Celebration - the 40th Anniversary of Sarawak Independence, after Sabah, Sarawak and the Federation of Malaya together formed the Federation of Malaysia on 16th September, 1963.

The contents of this monograph attempts to assess the socio-cultural and economic and educational performances of the Bidayuh community, the problems and the challenges faced today and their strength, resilience and weakness of the community in their pursuit to progress in the 21st Century. Lastly, this monograph also proposes new strategies in creating a new identity for the community in the 21st Century.

There were more than 300 Bidayuhs comprising of political and community leaders, civil servants, professionals, academicians and opinion makers attended the symposium. The three-day symposium organized by the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development and Urbanization, Sarawak. The objectives of the symposium are as follows:

• To deliberate on all aspects of the Bidayuh cultures and their relevance to the community’s current and future socio-economic progress and advancement, in the field of education, commerce and industry;
• To identify some aspects of the Bidayuh culture that tend to impede or hinder the community’s socio-economic progress (which thus need to be gradually discarded) and new ones that are conducive towards the betterment and development of the community;
• To appraise and review the Bidayuh socio-economic performance and achievement in the last 40 years, from 2963 to 3003 and see what ought to be done in the years ahead;
• To analyse and study the basic plan and strategies to be adopted by the Bidayuh in order to change with, and meet the challenges of globalization and a new world of high competition, computerization, ICT and k-economy; and
• To see how and where the Bidayuh culture can and should promote national unity, racial harmony and racial understanding among the various ethnic groups in the country and the State of Sarawak in particular.

Though the basic objective of the symposium was to look into all aspects of Bidayuh cultures and see how best these cultural values and practices can be utilized by the community to progress in education, economy and to attain greater unity and harmony between the races in the State, the other more significant objective is to seek and chart new strategic directions which the community can adopt to brace the current forces of globalization and k-economy which become the real challenge in the 21st century.

The symposium was officiated by Deputy Chief Minister, Hon. Tan Sri Datuk Amar Alfred Jabu anak Numpang. In his opening speech he reminded the Dayak communities they must strive harder towards unity, because internal bickering and parochial mindset which can create hostility and divide the Dayaks and in the process can hamper development and progress as proven by their past history. He also said that lesson could be learned from some poor African countries which still remain poor due to decades of continuous tribal wars despite being endowed with rich natural resources and talented people. Jabu said the symposium was timely held, in light of the 40th anniversary of the State’s independence through the formation of Malaysia.. He noted that as a whole, the Dayak communities are facing similar problems and what concerns the Bidayuh in the future also affect the rest of the Dayak communities in Sarawak.

All ethnic communities in the State of Sarawak namely; the Chinese, Iban, Malay, Melanau and Orang Ulu have organized their respective cultural symposiums to address the main theme of the State Level Cultural Symposium “Cultural Resilient Toward an Era of Glorious Sarawak. The culmination of all these seminars was the State Level Cultural Symposium held on 21st August 2003, at Riverside Crown Plaza Hotel, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Resolutions passed at the respective communities cultural symposiums were submitted to the State Government. The State government than will and conceptualize new public policy guidelines and think of new affirmative actions on how to respond to the resolutions.

The Deputy Chief Minister, Hon. Datuk Amar Tan Sri Alfred Jabu also noted that in the last 40 years, the Bidayuhs had achieved a lot in the various fields including holding top posts in a few multinational organizations and the State Civil Service. In his parting speech he urged the Bidayuhs to develop a model of success that can be emulated by other communities in the State.

The Minister of Housing and chief advisor to the organizing committee, Hon. Datuk Michael Manyin ak Jawong in foreword urged the community to be forward looking with positive mindset. It is for this reason that it is extremely urgent and important for the community, the educated members of the Bidayuh community which has no history of civilization, to study our past performances, evaluate our present and thereafter set up strategies and action plans to face the challenges of the 21st Century. The globalize world will be very competitive and challenging and when meritocracy will be the norm of the day. Bidayuh or ‘Bidayuh Bauh’ must be bold enough to take risk especially in business ventures, ‘Bidayuh Bauh’ should also be willing to outdo each other to achieve greater heights without being envious of others’ success. The Bidayuh should discard the old mindset and assume new positive values that will ensure our survival in the 21st Century.

He also suggested that the community must be able to celebrate in our friends’ success story instead of hoping for their downfall. The Bidayuh must be willing to work hard and emulate those success. He also urged the more successful Bidayuh individuals to help the less fortunate among the community. Only then would the Bidayuh be able to raise the living standard of our people. Hon. Datuk Michael Manyin also challenged the community to take advantage of the many job opportunities in the major towns and urban centres throughout the country. He urged the Bidayuh to migrate to cities and urban areas where job opportunities are plenty, and where they will be gradually exposed to new values and very competitive and resilient environment. Manyin argued that about 50 per cent of Malaysians now lived in urban areas.

On the political front, he urged the Bidayuh to remain united under the National Front or Barisan Nasional (BN). He hoped the Bidayuh community would continue to work together and not think too much of which political parties in the BN we belong to. He also advised the community to discard the parochial mentality among themselves and create a new Bidayuh identity and a sense of belonging to the community. He further urged the Bidayuh community to call themselves as Sarawak Bidayuh or Malaysian Bidayuh and no more as Serian Bidayuh, Padawan Bidayuh, Bau Bidayuh or Lundu Bidayuh. He reiterated that the community should continue to maintain close cooperation with other communities and government of the day.

The contents of this monograph is based on ten working papers which was presented at the symposium. This monograph is divided into eleven chapters which represent some of the thoughts of the paper contributors which they presented at the symposium.

Reflection of the Bidayuh Past and Capacity Building

The second Chapter in this monograph is written by Robert Jacob Ridu with the caption “Reflections of the Past and Capacity Building Towards the 21st Century” gives important accounts of the Bidayuh in terms of their achievement in the socio-economic field and also with regard to their current status.

The author of this second chapter argues that the past leaders in the last century have kept their watch and ushered the community into the twentieth century. He posed some thought provoking question by asking”

“….can we the current leaders of the community maintain the same resolute assurance and confidence, that we too will keep our watches and motivates, inspire, prepare our people to maximize the opportunities presented to us in the 21st century, so that the community grows and prospers…”

There are also several issues that he tries to bring up in order to provoke discussions among the participants in the symposium. The questions encompass: who and where are we now?; where are we going”; and how do we get there? He has covered some critical areas of the road map including his own assessment of the educational status of the community by looking at the current socio-economic status of the community, the changing demographic patters, the socio-economic and family life of the community which he argued as lacking the Bidayuhness. He also discusses the rate of school dropout by discussing the findings of the survey on school dropout conducted by the State in the year 2000, which is rather high and worrying. The remaining section in this chapter is.devoted into discussing some of the affirmative actions which he hope would be taken into consideration in building capacity for growth and resilience of the community. In order to achieve this he suggests four stages of action to be taken by the by the actors and stake holders. Firstly, at the personal and family level a more concerted is deemed required to improve the educational status of the family members. Secondly, at the regional and district level efforts and affirmative action is required to look at strategic assets that the Bidayuh have, as land have not been fully optimized for the benefits of the community, in spite the fact that the Bidayuh territorial lands form the greater bulk of the hinterland of the capital city Kuching.

Thirdly he suggested that at the community level he suggests that the community to take stock and evolve a strategy for human resources development, by establishing a comprehensive interactive network, tracking and monitoring and counselling our students at schools and colleges to increase substantially the quality and quantity of Dayak taking post-secondary courses in skills acquisition, degrees, graduate degrees and professional qualification, especially in Science, Engineering and Mathematics. Lastly and more importantly he advised the community to anchor in spiritual considerations and not lay aside our faith and underestimate its role in our lives.

Cohesiveness Towards A Knowledgeable and Progressive Community

The third Chapter in this monograph entitled “Cohesiveness in Unity For Advancing Towards a Common Goal – A Successful, Knowledgeable and Progressive Community” is written by Hon. Dr. James Dawos Mamit, though as an environment management expert, he is a versatile writer too. As a President of the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) he present his vision of a Bidayuh unity in achieving a common goal as a knowledgeable and a progressive community in the 21st Century.

In this chapter he wrote succinctly on Bidayuh cohesiveness as an important ingredients to achieve a successful, knowledgeable and progressive community. In this chapter he discusses the existence of the Bidayuh in early Sarawak and how these diverse group came to Sarawak even before the coming of the White Rajah. Historically the Bidayuh were disintegrated and less cohesive. But ever since the community were able to enjoy the fruit of Independence forty years ago the Bidayuh now are “more united by the desire to achieve a common goal to be successful, knowledgeable, and progressive community.” He stressed that there are three common factors that lead to Bidayuh cohesiveness.

Firstly, Bidayuh cohesiveness is achieved through groupings or the various sub-groups found amongst the respective districts of Kuching, Serian, Bau and Lundu District, which was formally known as the First Division of Sarawak. The second factors which helps to explain the Bidayuh cohesiveness is the Bidayuh culture. In spite of the groupings the Bidayuh are seen to practice similar culture. The paper argues on how the baruk or pangah, is seen as an institution which unite the Bidayuh of the past and how it as an institution now, help promote cohesiveness amongst the Bidayuh. In addition, the author also argues that the gawai culture which we inherited from our ancestors has helped to nurture the cordial relationship amongst the Bidayuh communities. The third factor which the author argues has cemented a high degree of cohesiveness among the Bidayuh is the leadership. Because of wise and astute leadership, the Bidayuh of the past were able to weather the constant harassments and the attacks from their enemies. While the present leaders are able to unite the mass to be receptive to modern land development.

The author of this chapter postulates six main factors which he believes could enhance cohesively unite the Bidayuh community and at the same time create a successful, knowledgeable and progressive community. Based on the historical facts he presented and his own observation, he has come up with six imperatives namely; knowledge; social capital; leaders as futurist; political indulgence and cultural identity as the essence and building blocks towards the creation of a successful, knowledgeable and progressive Bidayuh community in the 21 st Century.

Social and Cultural Challenges

The fourth chapter entitled “Social and Cultural Challenges Facing the Bidayuh Community” is written by another prolific writer and researcher, Dr. Andrew Kiyu. According to him the Bidayuh community has to help disadvantaged families in this respect otherwise we will not reach the critical mass of educated Bidayuh needed to make the thriving stage self-sustaining. identify our niche areas in the social, economic, and political arena where we can bloom. record the state of our social institutions and culture every ten years for the benefit of our future generations. teach, transmit, document and proactively adapt our culture to suit the times. The Bidayuh has to manage their culture-contact with other cultures, and to look out for, and monitor the adverse effects as a result of these contacts. The community need to collect data on social problems among the community and to address these problems before they become worse, leading to disorganisation and demoralisation. preserve and keep on adding to our social capital as one of the ways to adapt positively to the changes which we undergo.

He cautioned that the Bidayuh on the need to ensure that the community stay at the optimum level of Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome Curve and not fall off into the stage of exhaustion. In his paper he urged the community to conduct Future Search workshops to gather community-wide vision for human development. If the Bidayuh were to depend on individual families to provide the mentally stimulating home environment, then it will take a few more generations for the community to reach that critical mass because there are so many under-privileged Bidayuh children amongst the community. He warned that the community cannot wait because other more developed communities will avail themselves of all the currently existing opportunities. The Bidayuh community as a whole, must find ways to provide the physical nutrition and positive mental stimuli for the needy Bidayuh children.

The Bidayuh community according to him may also need a critical mass in terms of numbers and influence, if they Bidayuh do not wish to be sidelined in the process of development. He urged that Bidayuh from Lundu right up to Serian, and beyond, to remain united and speak with one voice on issues which have significant impact on the community especially in terms of the development of the community.

Another articulating question that he posed in the paper is regarding “brand.” In his paper he questioned “What are the equivalent Bidayuh brands? Whether it is the baruk our which form the Bidayuh only identity”. But since the baruk is static, the Bidayuh community may need to think of ways to increase its share of the market brand. He again questioned whether all community halls in Bidayuh kampongs could incorporate baruk design just as minarets and domes are for mosques.

Education and Bilingual Education

The fourth and the fifth chapter is devoted to discuss one pertinent issue which all Dayak leaders in general and the Bidayuh leaders in particular want to champion and be made known to all sectors of the community, that is education/ In fact the DBNA, Bidayuh leaders and the community at large are concern with the educational achievement of the community. According to Hon. Datuk Micheal Manyin ak Jawong, there are about 3000 Bidayuh graduates. DBNA has been very much involved in this issue and has formed the DBNA Education committee which has been very active in promoting the importance of education to the Bidayuh through their numerous road shows. These education road show began since 1998 and now is a common feature in the Serian, Penrissen, and Padawan DBNA Branches activities. It is hope that the other DBNA branches will emulate the success of the three branches and incorporate the this activities as their branch activities.

Chapter five entitled “Culture and Education” is written Dr. Frank Kiong. In the chapter he dwells on the definition of culture and discuss the impact of negative Bidayuh culture. The importance of education in general and its importance to the Bidayuh community in particular. As a result, some Bidayuh parents are not investing enough in education. From his personal observation, he concludes that in some villages, Bidayuh parents are condemning their children to poor labourers. He felt sad because instead of preparing their children for the 21st Century, some parents are sending their children back to the 19th Century or even to the ‘cave’ days.

For the community to progress economically and politically, in his paper he urged Bidayuh parents and leaders to look into the positive aspect of the Bidayuh culture such sharing and giving through gotong-royong, and use that advantage to ‘transform’ their children so that they can excel in all endeavours. According to him, the resources necessary to provide educational services exist; it is just a matter of changing the priorities and redirecting them so that they benefit their children education. However, making this happen will require a serious commitment on the part of parents and leaders. Those parents and leaders who complain for lack of resources must begin by checking their entertainment and gambling budgets. He also urged leaders in the community to seriously re-examine the priorities of the community and urged them redirect these resources from merely setting up football fields or community halls to the fulfilment of the education of the community.

Chapter six discusses Bilingual education in Malaysia

K- Society and ICT

Chapter seven discusses K-Society and ICT

Monetize Assets and Wealth Creation

Chapter eight presents some thoughts of the Deputy State Secretary, Datu Wilson Baya Dandot in his paper presentation on "A New Cultural Identity For The Bidayuh Community: Moving From Personal And Entrepreneurial Development To Wealth Creation" at the Bidayuh Culture Symposium. He noted environment, education, external influences, changing perceptions, values and mindsets were the prime-movers for changing the Bidayuh culture. The Bidayuh community has to change some aspects of its culture in order to keep abreast and partake in developments around them.

According to Datu Wilson, the Bidayuh community has progressed from a rural community of farmers and rubber-tapers to government and private sector employees and has seen the emergence of a few entrepreneurs. However, he continued, the modern society and economy imposed ever-changing rules and constraints on the community which pose as a challenge the community has to face. The community need to not only change elements of their culture in order to progress in the new world, but also need to continuously upgrade and update themselves as well, He urged the community to develop as entrepreneurs and acquire a "money culture" as well as change their attitude towards their assets.

He opined that Bidayuh community had some good assets as the community was located in the Kuching and Samarahan Divisions where the seat of government and the business centres of the State were located. Many members of the community own properties and houses in the urban and semi-urban areas in Kuching and Samarahan, which could be monetized, and the money derived could be transacted or invested to earn more money, he continued. Datu Wilson was of opinion that the Bidayuh should target individuals rather than try to change the society en masse. He reiterated the Bidayuh community was becoming more heterogeneous and individualistic. Under such circumstance, it is difficult to address the community as a block. Individuals will have to develop, and it is the sum and value of these individuals that define the wealth and success of the community.

Land Development Strategies

Chapter nine is written by Dato’ Peter Minos, a successful Bidayuh entrepreneur, a trained lawyer and a politician, entitled, “The Relationship between Culture and Economic Progress - The Bidayuh Experience in the Last 40 Years (1963-2003)”. Minos proposed three strategic directions as possible solutions and called on the Bidayuh to contemplate on requesting for mixed zone land status for some land, new village development and political unity. On the first strategy, he noted, although it would be considered a controversial step, it should not stop the Bidayuh, whose land is normally located close to or within the periphery of the urban areas, from exploring strategic ideas to improve themselves. In his paper he urged the Bidayuh to consider changing the status of their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land to mixed zones in efforts to upgrade their socio-economic status. As a Bidayuh social activist Dato Peter Minos said that landowners would gain financially from the move as there would be an immediate increase in the land value. In his very articulating paper he questioned why the NCR land owned by the Bidayuh and next to mixed zone land belonging to the Chinese, remain NCR status permanently with artificially very low commercial value, when it can be given mixed zone land status which could fetch up to 10 times higher in value. He said the net effect was that they would have some capital, which could be used for running businesses, their children’s education and other forms of investment. The upgrading of certain NCR land to mixed zone status, done at the request of landowners as had been undertaken by other Bumiputras, would benefit the community in the short and long run. He opined that it is a high time for the Bidayuh to request the government to change the legal status of some parcels of land near or within the periphery of the urban areas like Kuching City, Lundu, Bau, Siburan and Serian from its present status Native Customary Rights (NCR) to Mixed Zone land.

The second strategy he proposed in his paper is the centralisation of the scattered villages into a few strategic areas which he coins as the new village concept of development. On new village development, he reiterated that the community could negotiate with government agencies like the Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) and Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) to build new rural townships on a mutually beneficial basis. Such a township, which encompasses agricultural and economic development, could be developed on a 30/70 percent value or benefit basis. He was confident that the regrouping of scattered villages into a few strategic areas with proper urban-like planning, including new houses, utilities and facilities, could help improve the quality of life and living standard of the community in the long run.

The Bidayuh community has no other option but to brace for the challenges of the 21st Century and adopt a culture of change in order to carve out a better future. Dato' Peter Minos also reminded the Bidayuh of the reality of the inevitable challenges and threat brought about by forces of globalization, liberalization of global market, information communication technology boom and knowledge based economy. "We have to do everything to catch up with the world and those who do not do so or do it very slowly and reluctantly will be sadly left behind and even cast aside or marginalized. This is the modern day reality; a stark reality facing the Bidayuh. He said it was time for action to match the rhetoric, like taking drastic measures in order to rise up and catch up with other groups who had made numerous sacrifices for the prosperity of the progeny.

Lastly, he suggested the Bidayuh follow the example of a few smaller Bumiputera groups by uniting under one political party. Minos opined as long as the Bidayuh are split into so many political parties as they are now, even in the grand coalition of Barisan Nasional, the Bidayuh shall never have any group political voice respected by others.
The author of this chapter argued that the Bidayuh should not be naive in underestimating the force of group political strength in achieving their social and economic progress which was vital for any racial group in Malaysia. In his paper he cautioned that a community that is politically divided would suffer dire consequences. He further reiterated that the Bidayuh culture of always wanting to maintain the present status quo is outdated and does not do any favour the community at all.

Business Opportunities

Chapter ten Augustine Jose Duna

K-Bidayuh

The last chapter is written by Nicholas Amin under the caption “K-Bidayuh: Strategies to prepare the Bidayuh community to weather the impacts of globalization.” Nicholas Amin argues that the emerging challenges of globalization, information and communication technology (ICT) and knowledge based economy (k-economy) meant that the Bidayuhs have no choice but to equip and brace themselves for the future. Nicholas’ paper attempts to provide some insights on the K-community (K-Bidayuh) and to examine problems and challenges faced by the Bidayuh community in meeting demands of the globalize world and the new economy of the present millennium. Several strategies were proposed in this chapter which will enable the Bidayuh community to cope with the rapid changes in the social and economic changes brought about by the knowledge-based economy which is the main characteristics of the 21st century.

He opined that increase awareness of the importance of education among the Bidayuh parents, community leaders, teachers, and the children as one of the strategies which the community should embark. In this chapter he dwells on the need for the younger generation to acquire knowledge as this more acute in the present context than it was in the past. This is to meet the changing demand in the work environment.

Nicholas Amin suggests three key elements essential for the community if the community were to succeed in the 21st century. The three elements are:

• Emphasize on Academic excellence - Special emphasis should be placed on academic excellence in order to capitalise on the new knowledge and be at the frontiers of change.

• Popularisation of higher education among the Bidayuh - in a K-economy, higher education is no longer a luxury limited to the rich and the elite of the society as it was in the past. Higher education is not only required for the continuous growth of the economy, but is also demanded for the people to become just more knowledgeable. The current figure is rather dismal and more should be encouraged to take up further studies.

• Life-long learning or continuous learning will be the norm in a K-economy as knowledge is not static but rather a volatile and fragile ‘commodity’ that necessitate continuous ‘maintenance’.

Bidayuh Bauh: A New Identity

After summing all the chapters in this monograph, I feel it is also incumbent upon me to outline a new Bidayuh identity or Bidayuh Bauh in the 21st Century, this is because none of the chapters succinctly or explicitly describe what constitute this new identity. However, at the outset, I must admit that it is an arduous task for me in my attempt to synthesize what constitute a new identity for the Bidayuh in the 21st Century, I realize that I am not too sure of what that new identity entails. But after reading all the chapters several times, and it the process of editing them, suffice for me to say that the Bidayuh Bauh can be summarized as follows:

• A community that is cohesive and politically united preferably under one political party and able to preserve and nurture unity not only among themselves but also among other communities;

• A new identity through the use of traditional costumes and promote a standardize Bidayuh language among the community;

• Bidayuh parents give priority to their children education and by 2010 there must be at least one graduate in a Bidayuh household and emphasize on excellence in education particularly in the field of Science, Technology and ICT;

• For the Bidayuh who residing within the vicinity of Kuching city, and those nearby the major towns will be holders of mixed-zone land titles as opposed to the NAL and NCR land they hold dearly to now;

• Be prepared to discard whatever values, beliefs or norms that are no longer relevant in the 21st Century, but new sets of values, or norms such as being assertive, resilience and able to brave what ever challenges;

• The Bidayuh will be living in a new village which is well planned with modern amenities with healthy environment thus promised a better quality of life, and their kampong houses in these new villages will be documented with proper land title;

• Knowledgeable and progressive society whereby the community will continue their pursuit of knowledge and many Bidayuh households will be connected with the information super highway and more younger generation will be ICT literate;

• Bidayuh as an enterprising, profit-minded and business-minded people, dare to venture in business, and wanting to quest for excellence in the pursuit in life;

• Bidayuh with monetized or documented assets, and for those who can afford it could buy properties in the cities and at the same time maintained a decent kampong houses as this is a form of wealth creation; and

• A middle-class Bidayuh with a better quality of life; and

• Sense of identity and belonging and be proud of being a Bidayuh.

Finally, it is hoped that the publication of this monograph will become a point of reference for the Bidayuh community to re-evaluate our experiences of for the past 40 years of Independence. During the symposium, in examining our strength and weaknesses, we have identified what and where we have gone wrong, and what the community ought to do in trying to harness the vast potentials of the community in forging ahead in the 21st Century ahead.