By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Nov 18: A RM500 fine will be imposed under a new ‘Chelap Dapur’ law for longhouse ‘bilik’ owners who neglect to maintain their space.
Minister in the Premier’s Department Dato Sri John Sikie Tayai pointed out that the Adat Iban of Chelap Dapur is a spiritual sanction which requires that the cooking place must be used for cooking at least once a month.
According to him, failure to do so would be an offence and may incur a fine and also require a spiritual ritual because it is believed that such an offence could bring bad fortune to members of the longhouse.
“This adat would be reinterpreted as an obligation imposed upon the owner of a ‘bilik’. It would be rewritten in this manner: Whoever owns a ‘bilik’ in a longhouse and stays away from the longhouse shall return at least once every six (6) months to the longhouse and shall ensure proper maintenance of his ‘bilik’. Failure to do so shall be punished by a fine not exceeding RM500,” he said in his ministerial wind-up speech during the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) sitting here today.
He said currently, they are in the process of drafting the new Adat.
He also hoped that the draft and recommendations can be completed towards the end of next year and presented to the Ketua Masyarakat and Ketua Kaum (KMKK) for their consent.
“Once the consent is obtained it would then be presented to Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri for approval,” he added. — DayakDaily
