SIBU: The Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) has urged the government to officially recognise the term “Dayak” to replace the term “others” (lain-lain) not only in the race column of official forms but also under the relevant laws.
Its president Major (Rtd) Moses Ripai said that until now, there had been no action from the government regarding the issue.
“There has been no further progress on this matter. What’s more disheartening is the absence of Dayak leaders speaking about it. Now, the term has been acknowledged and officially used,” he said in a statement yesterday.
According to Moses, the use of the term “others” seemed to ignore the Dayak community, as it was only used to differentiate them from Malays, Chinese, and Indians.
He stressed that based on the spirit of Malaysia Madani and Segulai Sejalai, PBDS hoped that amendments to the relevant laws could be made promptly so that the term could be officially used and recognised.
“For the state legislative assembly level, amendments also need to be made promptly to restore the Dayak community under the relevant laws. We do not want our community to be considered as outsiders,” he added.
Moses also hoped that the definition of ‘anak negeri’ (native) could be reconsidered in the Federal Constitution.
“We want actions, not just empty words,” Moses emphasised.
Moses stated that the term “Orang Asli” (indigenous people) in the Federal Constitution needed to be reviewed to align with the state constitution of Sarawak since the terms “Dayak Darat,” “Dayak Laut,” and “Murut” had now been updated to Bidayuh, Iban, Lun Bawang, and others.
“There are many other challenges affecting the Dayak people. The question is, are they afraid or ‘trained to be afraid’ to voice their concerns? We Dayak people must learn to paddle our own boat and not let others paddle for us,” he said.
He stated that it was crucial to make the term ‘Dayak’ official as it was also related to the recognition of the community’s role in the formation of Malaysia.
