KUCHING, May 30 ― Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing today warned the Dayak community that they should never allow non-Dayak groups to turn Gawai Dayak celebration as a political activity.
He said other groups in Malaysia are most welcome to join the Dayaks in the celebration, but they must not use this cultural festivity and turn it into political activities and a gimmick to further split the Dayaks.
“We, the Dayaks, must not allow ourselves to be politically used by other races,” he warned in his Gawai Dayak message, without naming any particular non-Dayak group which as been using the cultural festivity to split the community.
However, it is believed that he was referring to a national-level Gawai Dayak celebration in Bintulu which was organised by the federal Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, with the organising committee drawn from local local non -governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide technical input to the ministry.
Minister of Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo was the guest of honour of the celebration held from May 17 to 19.
Masing said the custodians of state Gawai Dayak are the Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU), Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) and Orang Ulu National Association (OUNA).
“It was these Dayak NGOs, since Gawai Dayak was recognised in the 60s by the Sarawak government as the Dayak cultural festivity, which were given the honour to organise state-level celebration every year,” he said.
“Let us make Gawai Dayak the knot that binds and the glue which seals all members of the Community as one,” he said.
Masing noted that the three main Dayak groupings ― the Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu ― do not have a common factor which can identify them as a single unit, like the Malays in Sarawak.
He said the Malays have religion as one strong common factor which provides them, among other things, the discipline of character and unity of purpose.
“Unfortunately, religion is not a unifying factor among the Dayak community,” he said, pointing out that they also don’t have a common social objective unto which they can group themselves as one social entity.
“Politics which could be the venue to unite the Dayaks, but instead it divides us further,” he added.
However, he said the Dayaks have Gawai Dayak as one common activity that they all share and celebrate once a year.
