“The Batang Ai by-election will be the testing ground for the New Iban or Iban Baru. The opposition candidate (Jawah Gerang) is the agent for change. He is the Iban Baru. The Ibans of Batang Ai need to rise up and support the candidate for change.”
The system of tuai rumah (longhouse chiefs) is a system that has prevented the community from emerging as rulers.
The Ibans, and by extension the other Dayaks, need to re-think their politics if they are ever going to get out of the vicious cycle of poverty, according to the Sarawak DAP.
The state constitution has been amended to prevent an Iban from being the governor, unless he is a Muslim. Another amendment makes it extremely difficult for the post of Speaker to be held by an Iban (and other Dayaks) or Chinese.
No comments:
Post a Comment