KUCHING: The Tun Jugah Foundation thanked the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) for promoting the Gawai Dayak Festival.
However, according to the senior advisor of the Tun Jugah Foundation Dr Peter Mulok Kedit, dressing the Padungan Cat Statue with the sirat and ketapu (loin cloth and head dress) is taboo according to most Iban customs.
“The Tun Jugah Foundation released this statement as it is the Foundation’s duty to preserve and protect Iban cultural integrity,” he said in a statement.
For the record, the Foundation’s objective is to receive and manage funds for educational, medical, and charitable purposes for public welfare; to preserve and promote Iban culture, arts, and language; to conduct research and provide intellectual materials such as publications for scholars and future generations.
Its objective is also to collect, record, transcribe, translate, and interpret all forms of Iban folklore for study by contemporary scholars and future generations of Iban.
