IBANS AND BIDAYUHS ARE FOREIGNERS?
If we refer our Federal Constitution to any American or European lawyer who speaks English, he may say ibans and bidayuhs are not people of Sarawak! He may say that they are not natives! But he will agree that sea dayaks and land dayaks are natives of Sarawak! This is because ibans and bidayuhs are not stated as indigenous people of Sarawak! So, to the American or European lawyers, ibans and bidayuhs, although are two largest groups of indigenous people, they may say that ibans and bidayuhs are foreigners!


This is because under Article 161A of the Federal Constitution, the only races that are considered as “natives” as indigenous to Sarawak are the Bukitans, Bisayahs, Dusuns, Sea Dayaks, Land Dayaks, Kadayans, Kalabits, Kayans, Kenyahs (including Sabups and Sipengs), Kajangs (including Sekapans, Kejamans, Lahanans, Punans, Tanjongs and Kanowits), Lugats, Lisums, Malays, Melanos, Muruts, Penans, Sians, Tagals, Tabuns and Ukits.
Nothing is mention about ibans and bidayuhs.


Once ibans and bidayuhs are not identified as natives, the impression foreigner may have is that ibans and bidayuhs are truly foreigners although they are not.

At this moment, we have another problem, that is, dayaks who are with mixed parentage. Those ibans and bidayuhs who have Chinese or Indian parents, they are not considered as natives of Sarawak. We have iban and bidayuh Yang Berhormats in the State, but, we are yet to hear any of them spoke on this issue in Parliament or in the State Legislative Assembly.

When we in the DAP spoke on dayak issues, Datuk James Masing said we better not speak because we are not dayaks and do not know dayak culture well. James Masing said it was a display of cultural arrogance for us in the DAP to speak on behalf of the dayaks. To Tan Sri Jabu, he may say that we do not even know how to “bekayuh”. So, each time we spoke on native issues, we were hard hit.

The simple reason for iban and bidayuh YBs that caused them not to speak was because they have to protect their own pockets. Once elected as YBs, they got few thousand ringgits as allowances per month. On top of that, the BN government gave them other perks. They were made to sit on the Board of Directors of statutory or public listed companies where they can get a few more thousand ringgits per month. So, they have comfortable life and with that they dared not speak against the wrong thing the BN government had done.

So dayak people should think and throw their Yang Berhormat who are in the BN away into the seas! This is because your dayak Yang Berhormats enjoy life, while you there who are supporting them suffer. The most they can give you may be, a few bottles of "cap langkau" from their allowances and the rest are then theirs to keep!