KUCHING: The Dayak community is hoping for a special allocation from the Federal government in the revised Budget 2023 which will be tabled on Friday (Feb 24).
Gagasan Dayak NGO, which comprises of Dayak Think Tank Association Sarawak (DTTAS), Dayak National Congress (DNC), Persatuan Iban Sarawak (PAIS), Sarawak Native Customary Rights Land Network Association (TAHABAS), Persatuan Masyarakat Salako dan Rara Sarawak (PERASA), Society for Rights of Indigenous People of Sarawak (SCRIPS) and Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) said it hoped that the government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim makes a good start by including a Sarawak Dayak Special Fund in the budget.
“For the purpose of equality, such special allocation should also be distributed to the Kadazan-Dusun-Murut-Rungus (KDMR) people of Sabah.
“Let the Prime Minister (PM) make history by becoming the first Malaysian PM to make a special fund allocation for the Dayaks of Sarawak and also the indegenous people of Sabah,” the NGO told New Sarawak Tribune, when asked to comment on Budget 2023.
Should the Dayak political leaders from Sarawak or KDMR are tight-lipped for various reasons, the NGO will speak for the people from the Borneo island, who are still far behind in terms of physical development and human capital.
The NGO also said that the federal government should consider the request for special allocation as part of the demand from the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Considering that one of the basic issues in MA63 is equality of development between West Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah, the NGO noted that racial diversity was getting the attention of the Federal government which has allocated special funds for the Orang Asli, Indians and Chinese.
“However, for the Dayaks, the situation is very disappointing where our existence in Malaysia seems to continue to be marginalised and there has never been any fund disbursed to the Dayaks in Sarawak.
“We have also never see nor read on the allocation of special funds for the KDMR people in Sabah,” it stressed.
The NGO noted that there was an imbalance in terms of allocation of funds among the races in Malaysia.
“One race should not be left behind in terms of distribution of allocations because the phrase ‘shared prosperity’ which is always mentioned needs to be enjoyed by all Malaysians, and this includes the Orang Asal of Sabah and Sarawak,” it said.
It pointed out that one of the important demands on which the people of Sabah and Sarawak agreed to form Malaysia was the guarantee of special rights of the Indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak.
“It is enshrined in Article 153 (1) of the Federal Constitution which states that ‘it is the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to protect the special position of the Indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak’.
“Therefore, Anwar, who leads the Unity government, needs to create special provisions for the Dayaks of Sarawak.
“We believe that federal grants and allocations should be in accordance with the original promise of MA63 when Malaysia was established and implemented more transparently.
“In line with the Federal Constitution which contains the terms of the MA63, the “Dayak” race must be officially recognised and used in all official government forms replacing other terms or Bumiputra Sarawak,” it said.
