By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 19: It is time for Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) to recognise that the future of the Dayak community extends beyond the deep rural heartlands, as more professionals, civil servants, and young families establish new roots in rapidly growing semi-urban areas.
In a statement, activist Peter John Jaban lauded outgoing PRS president Datuk Sri Joseph Salang Gandum’s call for a party structure that provides fairer and more balanced representation for its constituents in both rural and suburban communities.
He elaborated that the structure of PRS also must anticipate the forthcoming re-delineation exercise to add more seats to the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) following the special sitting earlier this year.
“This comes at a crucial time of rapid transformation in our rural and semi-urban demographics, especially among the Iban population. Our representatives must recognise the reality: the future of the Dayak community is not confined to deep rural areas alone.
“It also lies in these growing semi-urban zones, where Iban professionals, civil servants, and young families are now forming new communities. It is time for PRS to highlight this issue,” he said.
He said that over the last 50 years, many Ibans from longhouse communities have moved to semi-urban hubs in search of better jobs, education, and living standards.
“The Iban people are moving from the longhouse to the township, from subsistence to opportunity. We risk losing representation and voice if our political structures do not evolve alongside this reality.
“Many Dayaks now living in urban and suburban areas are left without clear political representation, despite their growing numbers and contributions to Sarawak’s economy.
“These are our people, too. They may live in housing estates instead of longhouses, but they face issues of cost of living, land rights, cultural preservation, and social identity that still need a strong Dayak voice.
“We cannot afford a situation where urban Dayaks become ‘politically invisible’ simply because constituency boundaries or party structures still follow the old rural patterns. This is not about choosing between rural and urban. It’s about ensuring that every Iban and other Dayak voice, whether from a longhouse or a housing estate, has equal weight in shaping Sarawak’s political future,” Peter said.
He added that the coming redelineation exercise on State and parliamentary electoral boundaries in Sarawak by the Election Commission (EC) must also ensure better rural and urban representation through proper allocation of seats among component parties of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), which takes into account the fast-changing population distribution.
Additionally, he also urged PRS and other Dayak-based parties to plan long-term strategies that address the needs of rural–urban migrants, including housing, education, and job access, while maintaining their cultural identity.
“Development must serve the people, not the other way around. Our people are moving forward, seeking new opportunities, and PRS must move with them,” he said. — DayakDaily
