The elusive butterfly of Dayak unity

Borneo Post

6 days ago

Photo courtesy of St Thomas's Cathedral Kuching shows the Gawai Dayak being celebrated during a church service last year.
YEAR 1966 was a turbulent one for the newly-independent, under Malaysia, state of Sarawak.
Its first chief minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan was appointed on July 22, July 1963.
He was ousted in 1966, firstly in Council Negri in June and then, by the federal government in September that year.
He had only served three years of his full five-year-term by then.
Kalong Ningkan was of Iban-Chinese parentage and was born in Betong in Sarawak's Second Division.
His successor was Dato' Sri Penghulu Tawi Sli, an Iban from Lingga in Sri Aman, who served until July 1970.
Tun Datuk Patinggi Abdul Rahman Yakub, a Melanau from Mukah, took over as Sarawak's third chief minister – serving from July 7, 1970 until he left office on April 1, 1981.
Since 1963, when Sarawak became a part of Malaysia, the Dayaks as one racial entity have been fractionalised into a number of political parties.
The 'Dayak Nation' itself comprises many different groupings, and the best description I found was from Wikipedia: 'The Dayak are the native groups of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located principally in the central and southern interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory, and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable.
'The Dayak were animist in belief; however, since the 19th century there has been mass conversion to Christianity and to Islam.'
Wikipedia has estimated that latest statistics show a Dayak population of 4.2 million, of which 3.3 million resides in Indonesia and 900,000 in Malaysia. Christianity is the main religion for 63 per cent of them, Islam for 32 per cent, and the rest are 'Kaharingan' / animism.
In Sarawak, 'Hari Gawai Dayak' was officially gazetted as a public holiday on Sept 25, 1964.
It was celebrated officially for the first time by the Sarawak government on June 1, 1965.
The Dayak community in Sarawak held a grand celebration attended by Kalong Ningkan on the eve of June 1, 1966 (the third annual festival) at the Sarawak Union Club which at the time was the most prominent community hall in Kuching.
In his speech, he spoke about the theme of unity.
'As we celebrate this 'Gawai Taun', and when we greet each other during this happy day, let us be mindful of the great and continuing need to preserve and strengthen the unity of our country.'
Kalong Ningkan was ousted just three months later, in September 1966, by some of his very own Dayak politicians from within and outside the now-defunct Sarawak National Party (SNAP).
The quest for Dayak unity in politics has been a never-ending vision and mission, which started long before Sarawak had gained its independence in 1963 from the United Kingdom.
History has shown us that from the very first political party started in 1959 – the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), and although there were some Dayak leaders who were among the founding members, the feeling on the ground even then was that it was more of a Chinese-majority party.
Instead of forming one major Dayak political party to unite themselves, their leaders at the time, with their own personal political beliefs and agendas, had fragmented into a number of parties like SNAP and PESAKA.
Wikipedia has the background of Dayak's political activism best: 'Dayak political activism in Sarawak had its roots in the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) and Parti Pesaka Anak Sarawak (PESAKA) during post-independence construction in the 1960s.
'These parties shaped, to a certain extent, Dayak politics in the state, although never enjoying the real privileges and benefits of chief ministerial power relative to its large electorate due to their own political disunity with some Dayaks joining various political parties instead of consolidating inside one single political party.'
Those of us with an interest in the political history of Sarawak since 1963 are very much aware of the many twists and turns, betrayals and backstabbings, and also the many cases of party-hopping especially after state and federal elections.
Many times in the past, ordinary citizens like us felt either disappointed or even betrayed by the acts and antics of those politicians whom we had voted to power, only to find out that these victors had quickly became turncoats not worth the principles or the promises that they had espoused and uttered at their pre-election rallies and election manifestos.
Such has been the politics of the day from the late 1960s right up till very recently.
Archive photo shows Kalong Ningkan delivering his first Gawai Dayak speech at Sarawak Union Club on May 31, 1966. — Photo courtesy of Sarawak Information Service
It had appeared that most of our citizens were only interested in politics when there were general or by-elections being held.
The running joke was that such run-ups to the elections would always involve the general spreading of wealth around to the electorate – in the forms of generous grants being 'donated' to those in the rural areas in need of general maintenance like road repairs, laying of electrical lines or water pipes, and even bridges to be built over rivers to access villages.
The images of 'blue fibreglass water-tanks' embossed with a certain political party's logo would go viral on social media and be seen as the most common form of 'getting the voters' out to support the donors come polling day.
The sales and consumption of consumer items like outboard engines, roofing materials, and especially beers and other spirits would increase manyfold.
To a large extent, however, this is no longer the case.
The times have changed, and the majority of the voters today are more mature, sophisticated and street-smart.
They are now able to think for themselves. Still, many will still knowingly participate in order to reap the benefits: 'If it's there and free, why not?'
Nonetheless, our present generation and our current group of leaders are now more mature, experienced, better educated, and much more in the loop of what the electorate wants and demands and their expectations are much higher than before.
Most of our leaders are now more altruistic as well.
However, there is still no sign of a true and a formidable united Dayak front as the politics of the day is still being played by a few dissident and divisive personalities who have their own reasons for creating such continuing disunity.
There are a few minority 'fighters for independence' and those who will always be against a federation of states 'controlled' by a central government.
There are those who feel 'left out' in the cold either due to past personal clashes or perceived slight and may feel that they are now viewed as 'outcasts'.
The reasons, excuses and perceptions of why all Dayaks cannot be fully united will never be easy to resolve, but I say with all honesty that right now, right here, Sarawak is in a pretty good place.
There is political stability and there is economic wellness, with the country being at peace and we being blessed with racial and religious harmony.
I also wish to share this favourite song of mine from 1966 by Bob Lind called 'Elusive Butterfly', of which the lyrics reflect best what I pray for Dayak unity (in the song, the butterfly has become a metaphor for transformation and hope; across cultures, it has become a symbol for rebirth and resurrection, for the triumph of the spirit and soul over the physical prison).
'You might wake up some mornin',
'To the sound of something moving past your window in the wind,
'And if you're quick enough to rise,
'You'll catch a fleeting glimpse of someone's fading shadow,
'Out on the new horizon,
'You may see the floating motion of a distant pair of wings,
'Don't be concerned, it will not harm you,
'It's only me pursuing somethin' I'm not sure of,
'Across my dreams with nets of wonder,
'I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love.'
I take my leave by wishing all my family, friends and readers who are celebrating this festival a very happy and blessed Gawai Dayak!
* The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist's own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper. Dayak Gawai Iban politics sarawak Stephen Kalong Ningkan