KUCHING: The natives of Sarawak cannot simply be lumped under the category of ‘others’ or ‘lain-lain’ as this is most demeaning to them, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing.
He emphasised that the 27 or more ethnic groups in Sarawak had names to their ethnicities.
“To ignore their racial existence is against human rights. Therefore, it is about time that our Federal Constitution redefines the meaning of natives of Sarawak,” he said today (Sept 22).
Masing was commenting on Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali’s recent statement that the definition of ‘natives’ under the supreme law must be updated.
Sharifah Hasidah had also said that the Sarawak government has proposed certain amendments to the Federal Constitution, including amending Article 160(2) to emphasise that the Federation of Malaysia was indeed established pursuant to the 1963 Agreement and not the 1957 Agreement of which Sarawak and Sabah were not parties to.
On this, Masing, who is also Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president, stressed that Malaysia was formed on Sept 16, 1963. As such, he said any part of the Federal Constitution which insinuated that this had happened on Aug 31, 1957 must be rectified.
“If these dates are not corrected, our future generation will get their historical facts wrong. That is the beginning of Sarawak’s subservience to people from Malaya,” he said.
Meanwhile, Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) vice-president Datuk Henry Harry Jinep also voiced his agreement that the various native ethnicities must be specifically mentioned in the Federal Constitution.
“The Melanau, Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah, Bisaya, Kelabit, and so on must be specifically mentioned in the Federal Constitution.”
He said some ethnic groups such as Orang Ulu comprised many sub-groups and tribes and these should be recognised.
Earlier, Sharifah Hasidah said the definition of natives of Sarawak in the Federal Constitution had always been a concern as the current definition does not accurately reflect the numerous different races of natives in the state.
“Often, apart from the Malay, Chinese, and Dayak, the rest of the natives would be conveniently categorised as ‘others’ or ‘lain-lain’,” she said.
