When the Long Seridan airstrip was established by the Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) in 1962, the Kelabit village opened up this remote region enabling the isolated forest nomads to enjoy better facilities and attend school.
A year earlier the Christian missionaries primary school was built on a hill behind the present Long Seridan airstrip where a few children from the small Kelabit community about 20 families attended school for the first time under a teacher from Bario, Frederick Sagau Batu Bala.
In 1964 Long Seridan received its first Batu Lintang College (BLTC) trained teacher Philip Lakai, the current “Pemanca” (paramount chief). Two other teachers from Bario–David Lian Tadun @ Maran Talla and Henry Jala @ Tama Lai–the first two Kelabits to be trained at BLTC in 1949-followed suit after Pemanca Philip.
Among the handful of students who attended the Long Seridan primary school in the mid 1960s were two prominent Kelabits – Dato Sri Idris Jala who later rose to become the first Kelabit to be a Federal Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. Idris, 59, was the son of the headmaster Henry Jala and Dr Petrus Bulan who became the first Kelabit holder of PhD and lecturer at the University of Malaysia, Sarawak (UNIMAS) in Kuching.
After the original school was relocated to be nearer to the airport and Seridan Asal longhouse, the student intake reached an all-time high of 129.
Semi-settled Penan and their nomadic cousins trickled in to attend school for the first time.
By the mid 1980s Long Seridan was the centre of attraction; many of the 500 to 600 children from 120 semi-nomadic and nomadic families from villages took an interest in learning how to read and write.
The Long Seridan primary school headmaster Willie Wing reminisced that initially it was a challenge because the shy Penan children were not used to being separated from their parents. Most nomadic parents built their lean-to shelters next to the school to ensure their children stayed long enough to have an education.
Even though the school had a hostel board and lodging and food for the pupils, they preferred to stay with their parents. After several months, most children gave up and followed their parents who were forced to return to the jungle to feed the family.
It reached a stage where the Long Seridan school’s population dropped to fewer than 30 pupils, Willie recalled.
Willie then went on a personal crusade to win over the “hearts and minds” of the nomadic parents to send their children back.
Now retired and living next to the Long Seridan school, Willie, 60, said (NST November 17, 1986): “The Penan who came to our school were given clothes and blankets. But they soon became homesick and they went back to the jungle with whatever we gave them.”
His efforts had not gone to waste because during his time, one of his Penan students went on to complete his Form Five examinations and became a temporary teacher. Another who studied at Marudi went on to become a policeman.
Today, Long Seridan primary school which has a population of 60 Penan students continues to attract semi-nomadic and nomadic Penan who are enthusiastic about being literate.
One of the parents of these special children is Gerawat Megud. Five out of his six children were able to attend the Long Seridan school. Margaret, 20, and Johari, 19, had to drop out after primary six because they could not raise enough money to continue with their education at the Marudi Secondary School.
Fortunately, two other children Jonathan, 14, and Eliana, 12, received sponsorships from the private sector through a few Chinese businessmen from Miri, Brunei and Kuala Lumpur and were able to continue schooling.
Gerawat said: “In the past we raised money by producing handicraft from forest products but now that we have decided to stay permanently we have to attend to basic needs such as feeding the family. In the past there was an abundance of wild sago which is our staple diet, but now we have turned to growing rice.
“I started growing padi for food about four years ago. It’s a full time job. After harvest I take my rice to the Kayan miller at Long Bedian Kayan Township about four hours away. There is no time to forage in the forest as our ancestors did,” said Gerawat.
Now that he has chosen to give up his nomadic lifestyle, he hopes the government will consider providing him and about 70 semi-settled and nomadic families with government land to build permanent homes.
He said: “Presently I am no better than a squatter, because I am staying on land that belongs to the Kelabits and through their goodwill, I have been given permission to grow padi and farm on land that belongs to their ancestors.
“It’s not easy being a permanent resident on land which does not belong to us. If only the government could approve a plot of land where we can build permanent homes for our families,” added Gerawat.
Gerawat hoped that his son Jonathan and daughter who have shifted to Marudi–10 hours away by road–will be given special permission to sit for their Form Three exams even though they do not have identity cards.
His youngest child Eliana, eight who is a Form Two student at Long Seridan school, will also be able to get an IC in time for her primary six examinations in four years time in 2021.
“I still have great faith in the system and in fact hope that by sending my children to school they will be able to fend for themselves in the future,” he added.
In the meantime the 60 nomadic Penan students at Long Seridan primary school are a happy lot going through their studies and activities with their 20 Kelabit classmates.
The school is headed by Kelabit headmaster Roland Sakai and his nine teachers who come from even as far as Peninsular Malaysia.
Kelabit headman Lagang Ipong, 70, leader of 350 Kelabits and about 300 Penan from the Long Seridan vicinity said that the tragic fires in April this year which left the village Medical and Health Centre and Seridan Asal village in ruins, is a set-back.
But all is not lost. Despite the destruction of nine-family Seridan Asal longhouse which lost about RM1 million in cash and properties such as native heirlooms and artefacts. The State assemblyman of Mulu Dato Gerawat Gala, a Kelabit from Pa Umor in the Bario Highlands, has promised to help rebuild the village.
On the bright side the national Oil company Petronas has sent a team to Long Seridan to look at connecting the Long Seridan section of the 500km Sabah to Sarawak gas pipeline costing RM3 billion. A blessing in disguise, they were in Long Seridan when the Seridan Asal longhouse was destroyed on 30 April.
Gerawat said that coincidentally the semi-nomadic Penan were having an inter-village soccer competition at 5.00pm that fateful day. “I was there watching the game when we all chipped in grabbing whatever buckets we had to fight the fire.
Somebody brought some fire extinguishers from the airport, but it was not enough. “But at least, the adjoining Seridan longhouse block and the BEM church next to Seridan Asal were saved.”
From the latest information, well-wishers have contributed about RM50,000 towards the Longhouse Rebuilding Fund while Petronas has agreed to build a road connecting Seridan Asal longhouse to the Long Seridan-Miri main road.
Coincidentally, one of the officers with the Petronas team at Long Seridan is a semi-nomadic Penan University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) geography graduate John Ferry James from Long Beruang.
In the face of rampant longhouse fires over the past years, the Sarawak government has looked into providing the rural folk with modern amenities and facilities.
Apart from the existing 12 Penan Service Centres, the government has built another seven Rural Service Centres over the last 10 years.
With the latest development and its strategic location, maybe it’s time to upgrade Long Seridan to become Rural Growth Centre complete with an Upriver Agent (URA) representing the Agriculture Department, Medical and Health Department and a fire-brigade and security unit as well as other relevant agencies.
Everyone has been eagerly waiting and anticipating that the sacrifices of the people of Long Seridan, Kelabit as well as Penan, will not be forgotten.
But like all rural communities in Sarawak, they are at the mercy of the powers that be! Once again, the ball is at the feet of the the caring Sarawak government.
(To be continued)
