KUCHING: Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) has questioned why the term ‘Dayak’ as a race has not been legalised since the idea was mooted some four years ago.
Its secretary general Julius Enchana noted there has been no action from the government after the federal Cabinet agreed to add the term ‘Dayak’ into the list of races to be recognised in the country’s legal system.
Julius said that for the term ‘Dayak’ to have a force of law, the government needed to make certain amendments to the state and federal laws.
However, he noted there has been no further action and development so far regarding this issue.
“Worse still, our Dayak leaders have not spoken about this since then. There is no action and our leaders just go silent on the issue.
“We don’t want to be referred to as ‘others’ or ‘lain-lain’ in official documents as we are proud to be called ‘Dayak’, he said.
He added that the definition of ‘natives’ in the Federal Constitution also needed to be reviewed.
Julius said this is not the first time PBDSB has brought up the issue.
“We want action, not just merely talk,” he concluded.
