Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Dayakism Is (Or Should Be) Dead & Buried In Batang Ai (Updated)

Yes, this is what happened in Batang Ai. Believe it or not, that is up to you. If this is not what happened, then it should have. This is not a complete analysis of the Batang Ai by election and ignores personal issues which may or may not have influenced the voters of Batang Ai.

In Sarawak Headhunter's opinion, the Iban voters of Batang Ai deliberately went about to kill Dayakism and bury it with all the pomp and ceremony of a seemingly well-fought election campaign that will cost the BN RM80 million or more and help it to lose the next State Elections.

They did us all a favour, for it is only with the death of Dayakism that a new Sarawak will soon be born for all Sarawakians and not just for the Dayaks.

With the rest of Malaysia rapidly abandoning "Ketuanan Melayu" in favour of "Ketuanan Rakyat", is Sarawak going to accept "Ketuanan Dayak"? Is Dayakism the only solution to Dayak unity? And is Dayak unity the only answer to change the BN regime? Will it be enough?

The Ibans of Batang Ai understood this well and chopped off the head of that useless fighting cock called "Dayakism", a fighting cock which had fought and lost so many wars (not just battles) and disappointed so many Dayaks and which was summarily deserted by its own proponents and leaders such as James Masing who defected to the "safe" but enslavish pirate harbour of the BN.

They were helped along in this intent - but unintentionally of course - by the BN's normal chicanery, corruption and cheating. I am not discounting the effect of vote-buying and ballot-box tampering, but I am saying that this would not have made much difference, whether in Batang Ai or elsewhere in Sarawak.

There is a factor that both BN and PKR underestimate, and that is the collective intelligence of the voters.

The voters of Batang Ai are not stupid. They understood full well the dilemma that this by-election put them in - a vote for PKR which had only "Dayakism" on its agenda would have made them a target for discrimination by the BN until at least the next state elections, while a vote for the BN would mean that they had to swallow their Dayak pride yet again and accept the "goodies" offered to them by the BN, tempting enough as these were.

Do you think that the Ibans of Batang Ai still don't know what Taib and his bunch of rampaging rapists, pillagers and looters have done throughout Sarawak under the guise of the "politics of development" and how they and other Sarawakians have been abused, made use of and discriminated against by Taib's evil regime? All this is no longer news in Sarawak and has gone beyond the blogs.

The Dayak voters are awake already and have been for some time. But when will the Dayak politicians wake up from the nightmare of Dayakism? When will the latter understand that there are larger issues at stake here? Stop harping on Dayakism - it will be in their own interests and that of the Dayaks to do so! Start thinking like Sarawakians.

What Taib and his evil BN regime has done and continues to do has adversely affected all Sarawakians except for his family, henchmen and cronies, not just the Dayaks.

PKR Sarawak is stupid if they still think that the Batang Ai voters have been fooled yet again by the BN and BN Sarawak is stupid if they think they have managed to fool the voters yet again as well.

The BN is self-delusional if they regard the results of the Batang Ai by-election as an endorsement of Taib, Jabu or Masing and BN so-called "policies". Even less is it an endorsement of Najib and neither is Batang Ai theirs to give to him.

The voters of Batang Ai do not need to be convinced by PKR to be united whether through Dayakism or any other agenda against an evil BN regime. They already are. They voted for BN out of convenience and because PKR could not as yet offer a convincing alternative - one that could make a positive difference to both their present as well as future circumstances.

Other than putting down the Taib and the BN for their crimes (which everyone already knows) and harping on Dayakism and Dayak "unity", where was PKR's agenda for "change"? What is PKR's agenda for change? Now that is what the Batang Ai voters wanted to hear, but PKR did not or could not tell them.

Maybe the time was not right yet and a win for PKR in Batang Ai would have been disastrous for the longer term goal of overthrowing the BN, since it would have given credence to Dayakism and put a scare into the other non-Dayak Sarawakians.

Dayakism makes for good "entertainment" but poor politics. If PKR Sarawak sees Dayakism as the alternative, that is even worse. How does it expect critical support from the crucial Malay/Melanau voters who may see Taib Mahmud and his evil regime as their only refuge against a fullscale Dayak uprising?

Dayakism has not worked for the last 20 years. Don't expect it to work in the next 2 years. PKR Sarawak needs a fresh new approach.

Even Dayak voters themselves have rejected Dayakism. If PKR still continues to put this fighting cock into the ring, it can expect to lose the next state elections as well. Sarawak does not need a Dayak (or Malay, Melanau, Orang Ulu or Chinese) Chief Minister. It needs a Sarawakian Chief Minister who has the support of all races of Sarawak.

Sarawak Headhunter will sumpit - blow-pipe - anyone who brings up the issue of Dayakism in future. What Sarawak needs is an agenda for all Sarawakians.

What else can PKR offer to the Dayaks other than Dayakism that will convince the Dayaks and other Sarawakians as well to dump Taib and BN in the next state elections?

That is another story, parts of which are all over Sarawak Headhunter's blog. Let us all work on it together.

Sarawakians for Sarawak!

The following is Sarawak Headhunter's reply (which also appears below) to some of the comments below:

1. There is no need for Dayaks to disassociate themselves from the so-called Dayakbaru concept. This is not a form of Dayakism in a new jar, as no doubt Dr John Brian Anthony will tell us.

Sarawak Headhunter does not think that Dayakbaru will have to close shop.

What is important is for the Dayakbaru concept to include the struggle of the entire poor population of Sarawak, Dayak and non-Dayak alike.

The fact that the Dayaks can join a multi-racial party like PKR, even if that is not the ideal solution for Sarawak yet, speaks for itself.

But they must resist the temptation to try and turn PKR Sarawak into another SNAP or PBDS.

2. Sarawakians must not be fooled by the BN Malayans' new trick - Najib's "1 Malaysia".

This is merely an excuse to maintain the hegemony of the ruling elite, and that includes Taib and his evil regime.

If the Malayan BN were really serious they would have gotten rid of Taib long ago - that would have enabled the reform of the Sarawak BN - with an infusion of new leaders, not the current batch of non-performing sycophants.

But they have always been and still are addicted to Sarawak's oil and gas resources to change.

"1 Malaysia" is just another means for them to get their daily fix at the expense of all Sarawakians.

Oi Najib, get rid of Taib, his henchmen and cronies and give us back a fair share of our own oil and gas resources, then talk to us about "1 Malaysia"!

3. Race is merely an identity and there is no harm in referring to each other by race, but it should not be used as a means to discriminate against others.

Things change. Those who were Bugis, Javanese, Indian, Melanau, even some Dayak, etc. have become Malay over time.

That has not made them any less or any more Malaysian or Sarawakian.

"1 Malaysia" will not change that either if its aim (undeclared no doubt) is to keep the feudal BN regime in place.

The BN status quo leaves no room for the continued development of all races in this country but caters only for the unjust enrichment of a few at the expense of the deprived majority.

"1 Malaysia" is just another tool in a massive arsenal of dirty tricks to ensure the continuation of corruption.

SKY is right again when he warns us against believing in this slogan.

So who should be the first to be stoned to death or beheaded?

4. Of what use is a battle cry which will lose the war for us while the real enemy sits back and laughs at our distractions?

As bongkersz has aptly said below, we risk alienating the very people we need support from, the Dayak voters and Sarawakians as a whole.

Isn't that self-defeating?

Think long and hard about this, my Dayak friends, and do not let your anger and frustration get the better of you.

5. Sarawak Headhunter agrees that Sarawak needs a new political party, but who's going to start it?

We have no choice but PKR for now and we have to make the best we can out of the situation and circumstances we find ourselves in.

Hopefully, PKR will be able to reinvent itself as far as Sarawak is concerned and come up with a vision, mission, plan and program that can convince Sarawakians that at long last a viable and better alternative government is ready, willing and able to replace the state BN in the coming state elections.

ALL concerned Sarawakians will have to work for it together, each in his own way. And we have the support now of many good Malayans as well.

Many voters still need to be convinced.

6. The sacred cow of Dayak nationalism must be sacrificed if Sarawak is to rid itself of Taib and his evil BN regime for the Dayaks themselves to progress and bring themselves out of poverty and deprivation.

Until then the NCR land issue will also remain unresolved.

The other sacred cows of Sarawak autonomy and the need to have a greater share of the Federal Government will be taken care of by a more responsive and responsible Federal government in the form of Pakatan Rakyat in place.

Nothing to sacrifice here, except the Malayan addiction to Sarawak's oil and gas.

If the Ibanas and Melanaus can accept a Malayan party like UMNO/BN, there is no reason why they can't accept PKR.

PKR just has to repackage itself and make itself acceptable.

PKR (Malaya) must make greater effort to understand Sarawakians better and PKR Sarawak must really open up to all Sarawakians instead of being held hostage by cliques intent on politicking and each holding on to their pitiful little turf at the expense of the bigger goal.

All Sarawakians, not just the other Dayaks as well, will be able to accept a more open PKR Sarawak which concentrates on its vision for a new Sarawak free from the petty yet vicious tyranny of Taib and his gang.

7. Those who are too shortsighted to see why Dayakism shouldn't be buried deserve to be subservient to Taib and his gang.

UMNO, MCA and MIC are barely surviving and will probably be swept away in the next general elections. Will Sarawakians want to be left behind again?

PBDS is dead. There is nothing left to mend. The ghost of PBDS needs to be laid to rest, not resurrected.

If we allow ourselves to dwell too much on the past, this will drag us down and prevent us from advancing.

Sarawakians deserve more hope than this.

A New Sarawak awaits to be born.

Or are we going to put this baby in the hands of the likes of Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib to be abused?

26 comments:

Bush said...

With immediate effect I would like to disassociate myself with Dayakbaru concept.Dayakbaru concept of dayakism is clearly rejected by Iban in Batang Ai.I now looking as a bigger picture for "Anak Bangsa Malaysia". Dayakism has no place in contemprary Malaysian politic. Racial base party is no longer acceptable. Dayakbaru must learn how to accept poliical reality base on multi-racial.

Anonymous said...

Correct Correct Correct-The dayaks must look at the bigger picture to regroup. Dayakbaru concept is obsolete, rejected,insignificant hence should be abandoned.We are 1 Malaysian...not Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Laut, orang Ulu, China...we r indeed "Anak Bangsa Malaysia"

IbanImmigrant said...

Bloggers should stop using the words Dayaks in thier posting.We are one Malaysian. Those who chose to identify themselve base on race should be stoned to death.

Unknown said...

Dear HH

My sentiment entirely. Well said.

But I caustion people who endorse najib's 1 Malaysia slogan. Don't be fooled by this latest spin of his. Why can't we have many malaysias?

sky

Anonymous said...

Can SH point your sumpit to Dayakbaru for his non stopped Dayak agenda?
_________________________

Sarawak Headhunter will sumpit - blow-pipe - anyone who brings up the issue of Dayakism in future. What Sarawak needs is an agenda for all Sarawakians.

Anonymous said...

I am ashame that Dayakism is blown out of proportion. I am proud to be a dayak Bidayuh for one and second as a Sarawakian and third as a Malaysian. In our fight to survive politically raciam must not be in the picture. In doing so we are repeating history Hitler with his white superemism policy and of course UMNO. It is bound to fall but then again it is a good battle cry. A battle cry to unite for a common cause and not as a superiority complex to stamp others.

Auspengerindu said...

If Dayakism is Dead & Buried in PKR struggle, Dayakbaru has no choice but to close shop

bongkersz said...

At last! Well said, SH! Dayakism should go, we should work it out as Malaysians and in the context of the state, as Sarawakians.

I couldn't help but feeling that Dayakism political approach used by Dayak leaders for the past years has alienated more Dayak voters, and Sarawakians as whole.

We must look at the bigger picture.

Virion said...

sarawak needs a new political party.

Anonymous said...

Dayak nationalism will be one of the sacred cows in Sarawak as long as the Dayaks remain poor and the issue of NCR land continues unresolved.

The other sacred cows are Sarawak autonomy and the need to have a greater share of the Federal Government.

It's unlikely that the Ibans and Melanau will aceept a Peninsular Malaysian party like PKR. Not sure whether the other Dayaks will accept PKR. Belum cuba belum tahu.

PKR will definately have a place among the Malays and Chinese in Sarawak.

What Sarawak needs to do is to avoid both the BN and the PR and form a Third Force in Malaysian politics along wih Sabah, the Orang Asli, the non-Tamil Indians in Peninsular Malaysia and other minorities like the Baba Nonyas, Chittys, Thais etc

piyatidoria said...

saya amat simpati kepada Bawin yg memulakan langkah utk membawa sebanyak mungkin kaum dayak menyertai pkr namun usahanya dilihat tidak begitu penting setelah ramai pemimpin dayak yg kecewa dgn taib dan jabu menyertai pkr maka itu tersisihlah dia. Bawin akan lebih liberal dan tidak bersikap kedayakan dan dia menolak konsep dayakisma.Dia boleh bersama pemimpin melayu, cina yg lain.dia mampu menjadi pemimpin dikalangan rakyat sarawak.Namun apa sekali kekalahan pkr di btg ai, janganlah kita putus harapan. dayak yg majoriti harus bersikap terbuka kepada org melayu dan cina. Jgn sampai UMNO mengambil peluang seperti apa yg berlaku di Sabah. Lupakan dayakisma setelah pkr merasa diperolok-olokkan di btg air, kembalilah sebagai pejuang sarawak....jgn sampai terkena sumpit oleh SH.

Anonymous said...

Congtltn YB Dom n team for Batang Ai by electn.all of u done very great job...
No matter wht ur team really managed to faced it,i solute u all, especially ur princes - (Z)- she's pressured frm so many ppl arnd her.
make sure these ppl will alwz b wz u, YB Dom.

Dayak
Batang Ai

Anonymous said...

I didn't see Dayakism should be buried in future.and I don't think your sumpit without 'ipuh 'can kill dayakism forever.
if the laut & melanau been majority in this state sure they will do the same-build up their lautnism/melanauism.
UMNO-kemelayuan
MCA-kecinaan
MIC-keindiaan
so if they can survive,why couldn't us.At the early time of PBDS it was work,now time to mend it back.

Mata Kuching said...

I agree with SH to a more certain than uncertain extent about his analysis and conviction that Dayakism should be buried and died in Batang Ai.

Whilst we should continue to fight for injustice committed against NCR landowners and look into policies to help the poor Dayaks grow their own wealth and be self sustained, we should not drum up Dayakism when we go the battle field or war zone against BN.

With less than 2 years away, BN will have to walk their talk and fulfill all promises made to the people of LA/BA. By the time and if ever BN did fulfill the developments promised other 70 constituencies will use Batang Ai's development fund as the minimum bench mark. With a expected prolong global recession and crisis and a drastic decline in support for BN in the west can Najib help Taib to prolong his rule over Sarawakians when his own polical survival is at stake?

Al Tugauw said...

1. There is no need for Dayaks to disassociate themselves from the so-called Dayakbaru concept. This is not a form of Dayakism in a new jar, as no doubt Dr John Brian Anthony will tell us.

Sarawak Headhunter does not think that Dayakbaru will have to close shop.

What is important is for the Dayakbaru concept to include the struggle of the entire poor population of Sarawak, Dayak and non-Dayak alike.

The fact that the Dayaks can join a multi-racial party like PKR, even if that is not the ideal solution for Sarawak yet, speaks for itself.

But they must resist the temptation to try and turn PKR into another SNAP or PBDS.

2. Sarawakians must not be fooled by the BN Malayans' new trick - Najib's "1 Malaysia".

This is merely an excuse to maintain the hegemony of the ruling elite, and that includes Taib and his evil regime.

If the Malayan BN were really serious they would have gotten rid of Taib long ago - that would have enabled the reform of the Sarawak BN - with an infusion of new leaders, not the current batch of non-performing sycophants.

But they have always been and still are addicted to Sarawak's oil and gas resources to change.

"1 Malaysia" is just another means for them to get their daily fix at the expense of all Sarawakians.

Oi Najib, get rid of Taib, his henchmen and cronies and give us back a fair share of our own oil and gas resources, then talk to us about "1 Malaysia"!

3. Race is merely an identity and there is no harm in referring to each other by race, but it should not be used as a means to discriminate against others.

Things change. Those who were Bugis, Javanese, Indian, Melanau, even some Dayak, etc. have become Malay over time.

That has not made them any less or any more Malaysian or Sarawakian.

"1 Malaysia" will not change that either if its aim (undeclared no doubt) is to keep the feudal BN regime in place.

The BN status quo leaves no room for the continued development of all races in this country but caters only for the unjust enrichment of a few at the expense of the deprived majority.

"1 Malaysia" is just another tool in a massive arsenal of dirty tricks to ensure the continuation of corruption.

SKY is right again when he warns us against believing in this slogan.

So who should be the first to be stoned to death or beheaded?

4. Of what use is a battle cry which will lose the war for us while the real enemy sits back and laughs at our distractions?

As bongkersz has aptly said below, we risk alienating the very people we need support from, the Dayak voters and Sarawakians as a whole.

Isn't that self-defeating?

Think long and hard about this, my Dayak friends, and do not let your anger and frustration get the better of you.

5. Sarawak Headhunter agrees that Sarawak needs a new political party, but who's going to start it?

We have no choice but PKR for now and we have to make the best we can out of the situation and circumstances we find ourselves in.

Hopefully, PKR will be able to reinvent itself as far as Sarawak is concerned and come up with a vision, mission, plan and program that can convince Sarawakians that at long last a viable and better alternative government is ready, willing and able to replace the state BN in the coming state elections.

ALL concerned Sarawakians will have to work for it together, each in his own way. And we have the support now of many good Malayans as well.

Many voters still need to be convinced.

6. The sacred cow of Dayak nationalism must be sacrificed if Sarawak is to rid itself of Taib and his evil BN regime for the Dayaks themselves to progress and bring themselves out of poverty and deprivation.

Until then the NCR land issue will also remain unresolved.

The other sacred cows of Sarawak autonomy and the need to have a greater share of the Federal Government will be taken care of by a more responsive and responsible Federal government in the form of Pakatan Rakyat in place.

Nothing to sacrifice here, except the Malayan addiction to Sarawak's oil and gas.

If the Ibanas and Melanaus can accept a Malayan party like UMNO/BN, there is no reason why they can't accept PKR.

PKR just has to repackage itself and make itself acceptable.

PKR (Malaya) must make greater effort to understand Sarawakians better and PKR Sarawak must really open up to all Sarawakians instead of being held hostage by cliques intent on politicking and each holding on to their pitiful little turf at the expense of the bigger goal.

All Sarawakians, not just the other Dayaks as well, will be able to accept a more open PKR Sarawak which concentrates on its vision for a new Sarawak free from the petty yet vicious tyranny of Taib and his gang.

7. Those who are too shortsighted to see why Dayakism shouldn't be buried deserve to be subservient to Taib and his gang.

UMNO, MCA and MIC are barely surviving and will probably be swept away in the next general elections. Will Sarawakians want to be left behind again?

PBDS is dead. There is nothing left to mend. The ghost of PBDS needs to be laid to rest, not resurrected.

If we allow ourselves to dwell too much on the past, this will drag us down and prevent us from advancing.

Sarawakians deserve more hope than this.

A New Sarawak awaits to be born.

Or are we going to put this baby in the hands of the likes of Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib to be abused?

D.H Harun said...

Sarawak Headhunter does not think that Dayakbaru will have to close shop.
-------------------------------
Meaning SH is awaiting for opportunity to sumpit (blow-pipe)Dayakbaru for its almost certain that Dayakbaru will raise the issue of dayakism.

Anonymous said...

Batang Ai oh batang Anwar Ibrahim ...

Ibans .... what a disgrace ! When will you all wake up?

Anonymous said...

SH sir,

You indeed have vision and I will be honored one day to shake your hand.

But in fact, we still need Dayakism to a certain degree as a hedge against ketuanan melayu as always harped upon by Hisapputin.

If ketuanan melayu is dropped, well we bury dayakism. If it is not,then keep dayakism going. Dayaks are majority in Sarawak.

Also, dayaks are famously known for their warrior prowess in the unfriendly jungles, and their ability to survive in that habitat for weeks and months where others cannot.

When the land was first discovered by outsiders, dayaks were already roaming this land, far and wide.

Dayakism if defined as a cultural term is fine; as a warrior cry as opposed to ketuanan melayu, why not.

Anglophile said...

There is no reason not to celebrate your ethnicities. Your race is what defines you culturally and it is not something that should be denied.

However, a politically party that is raced based (no matter what the majority race is) is never going to have relevancy statewide.

The political party that can draw Malay, Melanau, Dayak, Chinese, Indian and all others, will be the party that can challenge BN.

PKR is not that party ...once again it has shown that it does not have a true grasp of Sarawakian politics. I suspect that PKR (Sarawak) members know what needs to be done but have not been able to put aside their own political ambitions for the greater good. PKR as it is today will not succeed in Sarawak.

Find a political party that says "we are Sarawakians" rather than "we are Ibans" or "we are Melanaus" and you will find one capable of toppling Taib's regime.

Sarawak is not an entitlement that is passed from father to son. You people deserve better than that.

Anonymous said...

Union For Sarawak

Anonymous said...

1 malaysia? we are malaysian? we dayaks are the lowest class in malaysia..who control the gov, the economy can sayla we are 1 malaysia since you hidup senang

Anonymous said...

I am for Dayakism, as per my interpretation.
Any more YB to die?
http://tunabdulrazak.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/yb-ranum-please-die/

romerz said...

Do not despair. If we have done our jobs well as parents and grandparents of future Malaysians, I have no doubt that our descendants will one day forge a Malaysia that knows no Dayak, Malay, Chinese or Indians but a single race of Malaysians!

Our despair comes from our impatience for whatever reasons we may have. In my case, impatient selfish reasons.

But I'm starting to fight against my impatient desires and the desires of those who have a whole future ahead!

Let us not encumbrance them with our impatient selfish desires. Instead let us remind them that whatever they do, do so within a time frame most comfortable to them) we will still be supportive because we trust them.

By right, we should tell the young ones to ignore us if we really care for this country of ours!

Anonymous said...

Maybe the social scientists among you lot can enlighten us on present and past data on:

1)Ratio of Iban graduates to Iban population
2)Per capita income of Ibans
3)Employment analysis, in the private and civil service of Ibans e.g. numbers and percentages, job grades
4)Public and privates university entries
5)Number of students at universities who are under full scholarships
6)Performance of Ibans in PMR, SPM, STPM

AND compare the above statistics with that of the Malays, Bidayuh, Chinese, Indians, etc.

Even if Dayakism is DEAD, the above issues are ever present for the Ibans. Our political leaders must transcend political boundaries to address the community problems before the Ibans become the next American Indians or Australian Aborigines.

jumpover said...

dayakism is still alive in dayak baru/rebak baru. Dont worry...we'll be back...to fight our belonging which stollen by beend swk headed by mugabeee.

bima said...

nice