BY NEVILLE TIMOTHY SANDERS & ABIDGAIL MERTA GANGGANG
KUCHING: The Iban language needs to be empowered, beginning from primary and secondary school level right up to higher education institutions.
Minister in Premier’s Office, Datuk John Sikie Tayai said this is important so that the language can be fully mastered and synchronised.
“We all know the Iban language has its differences, in terms of its accent, and the pronunciation is also different.
“With the exposure of Iban from school up to university, this language can be practised and synchronised even better,” he said.
He said this during the closing of a workshop on Strengthening of Bahasa Iban In The Community here on Wednesday (March 8).
Sikie added that Iban has long been taught from primary until secondary school, but the subject is only taught at schools in rural areas.
“If the language is not practised at school here in Kuching city, then the Iban community would not be able to fully master the language.
“I hope that the Iban language can also be learnt at schools in the city so that the language can be synchronised,” he added.
Sikie said students who study at the Institute of Teacher Education (IPG), also need to enrol in the Iban language course so that when they become teachers, they can teach the language correctly.
“The use of Iban should also be practised by the public especially media practitioners in Sarawak so that every message can be conveyed in a better way,” he added.
He said the language should not be watered down just because Sarawak consists of people from different ethnicity.
“Iban language has changed due to the mixing of the language and when we hear the news delivered by media practitioners, it is not the same.
“Therefore with this workshop it can be synchronised and the effort by the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (UKAS) in organising this programme is good to improve the language further.
The three day workshop was attended by over 40 media practitioners who write and publish news in the Iban language.
