KUCHING, May 26: The one major problem facing Dayaks today is political fragmentation, opined Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) secretary-general Julius Enchana.
He said this in a statement today in dissent of what Minister of Utilities Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said during his speech at the Sarawak Dayak National Union Gawai Dinner on Saturday night, that ego is the factor bringing down the Dayak community.
Julius went on to say that the Dayak voice is extremely diluted because it is divided among practically all the political parties.
He elaborated that these included the non-Dayak based parties and those passing themselves off as multi-racial but who give only scant attention to issues plaguing the Dayak community, either out of ignorance or political convenience.
“Political lessons should have been learnt from the past and the issue of a diluted voice should have been addressed. Unfortunately, nothing of that sort happened.
“Or if you are a Dayak, a young Dayak who has made good in education despite coming from a struggling family of farmers, you probably would be struggling to keep your emotions in check seeing how Dayak political leaders today have no real agenda to pursue except to repeat what they have been saying all these years.
“This is one of the many challenges faced by the Dayak: afraid or being trained to be afraid to voice out.”
Julius also opined that the Dayaks’ slow and lukewarm response to any issue that affects their community, in general, is partly the reason why the Dayaks are still lagging behind in many aspects.
“However, having said so, the current leaders too, should not be the ones totally to shoulder the responsibilities, because these issues have to be a collective responsibility,” he said.
“Dare to dream is my message to Rundi. Dayak leaders in Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) no longer aspire to the chief minister’s seat. They are just passengers in the nation. They don’t carry their own weight while others are paddling for them.” — DayakDaily
