Dayak Leader and Future

The Malayan people regardless of race or political parties always not agree with slogan “Sarawak for Sarawakian”, why? Because they worried Sarawak will demand for full autonomy and Malayan people nowhere to survive because their country “MALAYA” sooner or later will be over populated.

What we believe the difference between BN/UMNO and PR/PAS are their policies and agendas. The BN/UMNOs struggle to ensure that they will remain the Government until end of the time because to them no other political parties capable to govern this country effectively only BN/UMNO. For PR/PAS they plan to change the policies and the agendas in order to rules this country with the support from educated Dayaks.

I believe, either BN/UMNO continue conquered Putra Jaya or PR/PAS manage to form the new FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, the fate and future of the Dayak may not change much because PR/ PAS will never allow Sarawak for Sarawakian as well due to the important of natural resources to generate their revenue to rules the country effectively otherwise the people will question them the same. Sarawak for Sarawakian is important to Dayak because special attention by the ruling government should be considered due to Dayak situation for almost 50 years being neglected and treated similar to second class citizen. Dayak should be given more attention in Education, development in skill and knowledge, support and initiative to release them out from the current situation and expose them to the new era of human development. 

So, Dayak you have nobody to rely on except your own people who can understand well your problems, priorities, struggle and course. We cannot expect the Chinese, Malays or Indian from Malaya to tell us what to do or how to rules our own country Sarawak. These people are very complex, they are very smart in manipulation, they can talk very well, they can convince and promise you the star, the moon and sky, they are too advance compared to Dayak in Sarawak, we Dayak are very far left behind in term of modern knowledge and mentality, we were 50 years behind them in all areas, we have no exposures and limited in experienced, all this are mainly due to BN/UMNO government treated us very unfair in giving the opportunities to pursue our studies overseas and scholarship, even in the local government universities, Dayak were given very limited opportunities but however, they are the majority in this country of SARAWAK. Education, knowledge, exposure, skill and experience are our priorities besides the rural development, land infrastructure, and the basic amenities. We must protect and defence our right practising our religion and culture, we must defence our land, our properties, our river, our mountain as all these are ours right from beginning of the time which defended by our ancestor with blood and tears.

Whoever the true and capable Dayak paramount chief in the future respected by the majority of the IBANS and the rest of the Dayak people must be ready to sacrifice and defence us exactly as RENTAP did during the Brooke era. Dayak are badly split in the current era, we were cheated and blind, and we cannot differentiate the true and the false leader due to our greediness, selfish, materialistic. So, what is wrong if Sarawak is for Sarawakian?

Let There be Freedom to Listen

All Government-communist, fascist, dictatorship, democratic or even theocratic possess propaganda tools such as the Radion, Television, newspapers and other publications, website, Internet, Twitter, Facebook and what not to informer communicate with rule. Good government use these media to inculcate patriotism or love for the country.  Bad governments abuse them to indoctrine the ruled to love their rulers rather than instituition of Government, or to oppress or suppress dissent or decimate any one else having a different point of view.  So when signals from two radio stations pop up of thin air and dominate their airwaves for several hours each day in the rural areas, some politician especially from Ruling coalition lose sense of perspective, not to say, of fair play.

The two years old Radio free Sarawak and Radio Kenyalang barely three months old are under attack by governing politician which gives a lot of free publicity to the stations.  Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Youth lodged a police report against Radio Free Sarawak (RFS) and Radio Kenyalang (RK) at Sungai Maong Police Station here (Picture shown above)

What a counterproductive move, that was. As a result many people who couldn’t be bothered about their existence are now curious and may want to listen to them just to find out if they are really poisonous as claimed.  Before the stations are shut down, I suggest any person who is broadminded should listen to them and evaluate the quality of their broadcast before condemning them.  If they are amateurish and ineffective why take trouble to jam the broadcast.?

They will  not last if nobody listens to them any more.  Why bother to demand the police to take action against what are basically politically intrigues or foibles?.Already the police have their hamds full in dealing with real crime.  Police time should be better utilized in bringing kidnappers and murderers to book instead of spending it in catching the alleged defamers, libellers and slanderers.  They are not criminals unless the radio stations have become seditious advocating the overthrow of the legitimate government by force of arms

That freedom of expression has limitation and i agree absolutely.

Lest reader should go away with the impression that freedom of expression is without limitation, let me state clearly here and now that i do not condone libel or slander without justification, on a priviledge occasion or on the basis of fair comment in the public interest.  Not by any stretch of the imagination. Sedition being criminal in nature is never condoned, treason is never justified in a country like ours.

If one thinks that his or her reputation has been tarnished through the publication of a statement which tends to lower him or her in the estimation of right thinking members of society generally, one does not rush to the police; the police deal with violation of criminal law and public order, not civil cases.

Unless the allegation by the two radio stations (Radio free Sarawak and Radio kenyalang) verge on security problem for instance people are being aroused to take up arms against the legitimate government and its instituitions, these outfis should be allowed to carry on with their broadcast uninterrupted.  They are doing a good service to a lot of people in the rural areas who have no access to the internet, or even in certain areas of the state to the government- controlled radio station’s signals

However the moment they cross the red line, the appropriate law is already in place to deal with the editious and defamation as the case may be.  Otherwsie there is no need to harass them, let alone involve the police. It may perceived of enlisting the police help to side with you against your political rivals when the when the police should neutral in political matters.

A political party worth its salt should possess propaganda organs.  Both the radio stations are organs of political parties – RFS advocating the cause of Pakatan Rakyat and RK is promoting on its own.  It can’t because of its limited number of seat it will contest.  If luck has it, it may help form a government. Who knows? Discerning and broadminded listeners, listen to their broadcast and judge for themselves.  If you are innocent of their allegation, switch off your set.

If either or both these stations cannot influence voters to vote for their respect candidates at the next election, it would better to leave them alone, unless, repeat, they being deliberately seditious by threatening the security and the sovereignty of the nation, I would be the first to condemn them.

For the past 60 years we had listening to one station, the only source of information and its news and views.  It has become the only source of truth apart from Holy books of all religions.  So long have been indoctrinate by this one station one that when Radio Free Sarawak and Lately Radio Kenyalang penetrated the rural areas, the folk suddenly found an alternative source of news and information.  So why begrudge the enjoyment of that freedom to listen to alternative news and views?

RTM has been urged to counter the allegation made by two stations, but RTM is funded by taxpayers and as such should not be abused for political purposes.

It would be fair for political party in the Government to start a radio station of its own like the opposition BN in Selangor has done, it Radio BNFM is being financed by its members and supporters, not out of taxpayers’ pockets.  This is additional tool to the so called array of mainstream media under central Government control – the privilege of any incumbent administration. These are the Goliath and they should be able to stuff out the tiny Davids easily.

The prime Minister who doubles as the Selangor BN chairman and liaison chief in his broadcast has said that many problems has cropped up in Selangor especially those related to the empty promises made by opposition during last General election in 2008 That’s a fair comment, and two can play that game.

Similar views about empty promises have also been expressed by the interviewees from certain parliamentary constituencies in Sarawak and were aired by the two stations. What’s  the difference? The prime minister has every right to air his view on this matter of empty promises, so has a voters in Sarawak in respect of the same subject matter.

Has Menteri Besar of Selangor of Selangor reported Najib’s statement to the police or threatened to shut down BNfm station?

However when Radio free Sarawak relayed views of their interviewees on the same topic they were accused of telling lies and poisoning tge minds of the rural people. Using similar tools of trade, political rivals can prove each other wrong with facts and figures, word for words, issue for issue, verse for verse, chapter for chapter.

The law of libel and slander is available to those who wish to sue or be sued, the sedition law will spring into action if any one crosses the red line..  that the time to rush to the police station to lodge a report against the radio station that violates the law.  Not any old time.

I repeat, we must not begrudge the freedom of rural listeners who wish to find out alternative sources of information and keep people under the yol.

Be Fair. Let have the Freedom to listen, at least.

Immediate Response to Budget

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has announced the second election primer budget full of goodies, extending from bonuses to civil servants to handouts to lower income households. This budget is Najib’s latest fiscal effort to secure him a solid victory in the 13th general election that has to be held before the end of June next year.   The budget is a continuation of a historically unprecedented pattern of direct government transfers to woo political support that has broadened in scope, increased in amount and moved development policy from needs based initiatives to what appears to be a coordinated regime political survival programme.

With the increase of Federal govt debts of 4% (43b), the debt is raised to new height of RM502.4b! This is 53.7% of our GDP. We are on the blink of bankruptcy as a country with debts amounting to 55% of the GDP is a bankrupt state. With PM known to make supplementary borrowing, it is expected that he will resort to more borrowings to finance election good

ies if GE13 is held next year and bankrupt the country!

Nothing in the BN budget to rival the Pakatan Rakyat’s “Oil Justice” of which Sarawak will benefit directly. In the PR’s budget, Sarawak will be granted petroleum royalty of 20% as compare to the present 5%. Further, the PR is also committed to help establish state-owned second-tier oil and gas companies for Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu and Kelantan, through “risk sharing contracts” (RSC). Nothing in the BN’s budget. We are to settle for a part of the 400,000 water tanks costing RM100 million, to harvest rainwater but alas! RM2,500 per water tank, which is unbelievable.

There is nothing for the Sarawak First Trunk Road System, though much anticipated! (the increasing number of road accidents recently and considering the fact that the Semenanjung road network of 35,734 km as compared to 10,171 km for Sarawak and Sabah combined)

It is quite shocking that there is no provision to alleviate economic hardship of some Msian families. There are 84,000 families with household earning less than RM500 per month (these are households of “abject poverty”) and another RM427,000 families earning household income between RM501 to RM999.
In PR alternative budget, we proposed to raise welfare payment to these families from RM300 per month to RM550 per month. The increase in welfare payment will also help the OKU (physically or mentally challenged people).

The BN’s budget is also a huge let down when it fails to make any adjustment to the excise duty of motor vehicles (up to 105% of costs of the vehicles) as such reduction is much anticipated and deem to increase disposable income of the rakyat. In PR’s alternative budget, 20% reduction is promised. It is obvious that the BN is bent to protect the AP holders who are the BN-puteras and cronies.

The BN budget is losing sight of the country’s interests. It prioritizes the BN’s interests and is focused on its survival in this coming GE13, hence the bonus of 1 and 1/2 month for civil servants (even though it took into account the 1/2 month bonus already paid before the last Hari Raya Aidifitri) which will cost the country RM6 billion; 2nd round of BR1M to cost RM3b; one-off BR1M 2.0 of giving RM250 to youths above 21 earning less than RM2000 per month; RM200 rebates for 1.5 million youths between 21 and 30 to buy smartphone which will cost the country RM300 million.

However, the important sectors are taking the back seats: only RM276 million for MACC (this shows that the BN is absolutely not committed to combat corruption, comparing this to the RM300m for smartphone rebates to youths; only RM600 million for crime reduction, SME (small and medium enterprises) Development Scheme only RM1 billion and RM100 million each for all National typed Chinese, Tamil and Mission schools.

On the whole, the National budget is disappointing and a let-down. It is basically a ticket for the BN to secure victory for the coming general election, and nothing more.

New Born Dayak Leader

I should not be writing such article as it may have negative effect on Dayak. But let truth be told that come election the Dayak will be made to split politically. Let as examined today scenario – where PRS is being challenged by SWP, a political party that do not get any rebuke by the State leadership and rather given a silent approval. Dr. James has to shout at the top of his voice to remind BN component party of BN constitution that for any party to be admitted into BN it must be agreed by ALL parties. Even with one descending voice that would be a NO. Dr. James per-empt such scenario but might have thought of other strategies to take should he finds himself boxed into a corner. The key element of PRS strategy is “sediakan payong sebelum hujan” and also PRS must be fast enough to avoid a situation for “nasi sudah jadi bubur” then what can you do. The worst situation that PRS face is “di telan mati apai di luak mati indai” in their fight for survival. 

We also witnessed the splitting of SPDP, first with the G5 and later plus one with Wong Judat leaving to join SWP. The G5 were given a wide range of freedom including holding on to their government post despite having left SPDP through a never before organization that is now known as “BN Independent”. Why did this happened? Simply because some one wanted to see SPDP weaken and could not be a political force if they wanted to consolidate their Dayak support. At the end of the day, the power of the day must ensure that Dayak cannot helm the government of the state of Sarawak. The unseen hand wanted to see status -quo maintained. 

SNAP declared it will go it alone this coming election. In the last election its financial resources was provided by outside interested party to ensure that Pakatan votes would be reduced. SNAP is in a good position to fight for the slogan of “Sarawak for Sarawakian” but the leadership is not capable of doing that. It may have its own agenda and when the party do not have the money the party would be open to manipulation by a third party. What we need now is to embark on the journey of creating new Dayak leadership to represent us.

Building new Dayak Leadership 

Even among the educated Dayak there are large amount of “personal character ” assassination politics. Many educated Dayak like to feel that they are better then the rest. Sadly the same people may not have a clear goal to achieve despite being involved in politics and it is a shame that their harsh words for potential leaders is destructive whilst they do not have ideas of their own on who should be the leaders. The “personal agenda” is all important to them. We need to learn to be circumspect in criticizing our upcoming leaders so to avoid eroding their creditability and integrity which may lead to their defeat. The consequence would be a lost to our own Dayak community. Let us be more focus and objective in dealing with leadership selection and not interfere with their effort once a decision has been made for them to contest the election. In this way, we will have a smoother environment to focus on the job of getting vote rather then trying to response to the various scheming and accusation. This is a sure to split the Dayak even before the election. This problem is contributed and created by our own self. 

 Let us learn to be constructive in our approach to build new leaders if we want to replace the current ones in BN. We know it is a long process to build good leadership and that is why it is more important for us to be aware of our own action so as not to interfere with the process. 

With this article I would like to draw your attention to the challenge of preparing a new group of Dayak leaders and what we all can do to ensure that they will be able to lead us into the next 10 years. We must find new behaviors and approaches to avoid diluting our political strength and purpose of politics. We are already short of many commodities in politics and one of it is MONEY. We can overcome this problem if we can all put our effort together. It has been done during the PBDS era. The other commodity which we do not have a choice on is TIME. Our time is running out or its now or never as the work of grabbing our NCR land, flood our natural heritage, suppress our culture and religion, curtailing our job and business opportunity is going on earnestly by our detractors. This we cannot allow them to have more time to master us as we stand to lose and it is difficult to get back our losses. Some losses like BAKUN and the to be BARAM dam we will never recover at all unless we act now in a wise manner. 

Conclusion 

The road ahead of us is already difficult. We do not have to add to those difficulties if we are together in words and thoughts. Let us give strength to one another through our support and effort. Our community need us to work as a strong energize team and cohesive in our plan and action. For lack of words I can say LET US GO UBAH and itd not a new term for the sake of our future...

Rainforest World Music Festival- Alkisah Kamek

After a lapse of a few years, I decided to go to the much hyped annual rainforest World Music Festival over weekend.  What could I say about the festival, other than seeing a sea of people from as far as the Czech Republic in Europe, Argentina in South Africa and Hawaii in the United States converging here.  For me, this year’s event was fun because I brought two good friends from Singapore –Paul and Andrew.  Being first time visitor to the RWMF, they were obviously excited.  Nevertheless, having known them for a long time I had to brace myself for whatever comments - good or otherwise – they had about festival.  “well, we’re Singapore what! Its our obligation to be fussy and particular about everything,” Paul half-joked.

So we went to the festival – me without much expectation but I couldn’t say much about Paul and Andrew.  I thought they were observing everything, although they didn’t show much.  In fact, they seemed to enjoy atmosphere and it made me glad.   I love energy here.  Everybody seems to be moving all the time.  It does feel like a music festival, equivalent to Woodstock but at much at possible level.  Its really a musical celebration from around the world and I love seeing people of all creed and races get together and be like old friends to meet each other, even though they never meet before.  What I like is the fact that youngsters have come not just to participate but also as volunteers and food stall operators.  Its all so active...

And I must commend security.  They are really successful at making visitors feel secure and safe.  As a pure Sarawakian, I beamed with a pride hearing these comments.  I agreed that this year’s handling of the festival was professionally done.  Of course, also as a Sarawakian , I felt the festival could have been better but I believe that true observation would only come from fist time visitors like Paul and Andrew rather than from a been there done that person such as myself.  True enough not everything about the festival was rosy.

Apart from anticipating that RWMF would be a rave party of sort, Andrew expected the festival to be more focused on raising awareness of preserving and sustaining rainforests.  With the ‘rainforest’ in its name, I’m expecting more programmes for raising awareness of the rainforests.  But what I see is that RWMF appears to be solely a music festival, albeit a great one.  Also seeing that the festival is being held at Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV), I expect it to be ethnics.  Instead, it seems like the management of the space is renting out the place for RWMF and their cultural performers are taking backseat during the festival.

I believe the festival should also include more Sarawak’ own cultural showcase.  At least have your guided dressed in their traditional customs and show visitors around.  I mean the cultural village staff shouldn’t just be put on sidelines just because we have foreign performers.  Paul and Andrew mention they wished for more shows on Sarawak culture.

I saw tagline ‘Rhythm of Borneo’ written on signboard across Kuching but where is it? A music festival can be anywhere – Edinburgh in Scotland or even Kuala Lumpur.  But having the word ‘rainforest’ in the name is what makes RWMF different.  Yes I enjoyed the Malay house showcase of Batik painting, top spinning, embroidery making and others, but where the Ibans, Bidayuhs, Melanaus and Orang Ulus?  The only people wearing the traditional costumes were the ones manning booth right after entrance.

Beside that I must highlighted the logistic issue in which visitors who were driving to Damai had to leave their vehicles at one Hotel, which was good 5 km or more from the cultural village.  But it also cumbersome for my foreign colleagues’’ because they don’t want to trouble themselves bringing much money to commute between One Hotel and SCV.  Beside I have much souvenir shopping to do inside the village.  It might sot seem that big a deal at a glance, but it did drive some of the visitors to walk all the way just to avoid that kind of hassle.

It would be nicer if such fees are included all in one with the purchase of the tickets.  The purchasing agents should also give visitors the option to have their vehicles driven up to the venue by providing them with RWMF stickers.  

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Well, at least I’m enjoyed myself indulging at the festival.  Yeeepi..... (August)