KUCHING: Gagasan NGO Dayak Sarawak, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has declared its strong support for the stance taken by Public Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi in rejecting the idea of accepting Palestinian refugees into Sarawak.
While the organisation expressed sympathy for the victims of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, stating their full support for humanitarian efforts to aid those affected by the war, it however, stressed that Sarawak’s unique cultural fabric, known for harmony, diversity, and tolerance, must be preserved and strengthened.
They opined that introducing outsiders with potentially different cultural norms might jeopardise the region’s long-standing cultural identity.
“Therefore, we cannot afford to bring in outsiders whose culture and way of life may not match our culture and way of life in Sarawak.
“Without prejudice against any community or race, we think that the foreign community is not suitable for the atmosphere of the Sarawak community. Moreover, we are not sure that we can deal with communities prone to extremism, violence, and hatred.
“Therefore, we respect the right of the Malayan leaders to accept anyone, we also want to remind the Malayan leaders that they also need to respect the Sarawak leaders’ stance not to accept any refugees,” it said.
The NGO also called upon Malaysian leaders to respect Sarawak’s decision as autonomy over immigration is guaranteed by Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63), the Malaysian Constitution, and the Report of the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC).
“We hope that the Sarawak government will continue to defend our autonomy over immigration. Any change in immigration policy should be decided by Sabah and Sarawak,” it added.
Furthermore, the NGO also underscored the need to focus on addressing local priorities such as improving schools, expanding infrastructure like internet networks, roads, electricity, and ensuring a clean water supply.
While acknowledging the complexity of international conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas crisis, and expressing solidarity with innocent victims, they argued that accommodating more refugees would strain the resources of the Malaysian government.
“Our country’s experience with refugees is enough to provide lessons from various aspects of security, economy, business, job opportunities, social problems and so on.
“Therefore, to accommodate more refugees will put pressure on the resources of the Malaysian government, and we should prioritise the interests of the local people first,” it said.
Gagasan NGO Dayak Sarawak, among other NGOS, is made up of Sarawak Dayak Thinkers’ Association (DTTAS), DTTAS deputy president Ricky Sani. Sarawak Iban Association (PAIS), Sarawak Terabai Menua Association (TM), Persatuan Jaringan Tanah Hak Adat Bangsa Asal Sarawak (TAHABAS), Persatuan Masyarakat Salako dan Rara Sarawak (PERASA) and Persatuan Kebajikan Masyarakat Asal Engkilili, Skrang and Lubok Antu (PELASAR).
