Still thinking education not important

A senior Bidayuh minister has made a shocking revelation that there are still some Bidayuh parents who still thinks that sending their children to university as a waste of time and money.

Expressing deep regret over such a mentality, Infrastructure Development and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Michael Manyin Jawong said it was sad to discover there are still parents with such mentality.

“They (these group of parents) have very low regard for education and believe it’s just a waste of time and money to send their children to university ... simply because they said they were so many jobless graduates out there,” he added.

Manyin said such mentality should no longer exist should the community want to prosper together with other communities.

He stressed that education was the best recipe to break a community’s vicious poverty’s cycle, adding that was what the Bidayuh had gone through for the past six decades or so.

Manyin warned that such negative thinking among Bidayuh parents, especially in the rural areas, would only cause the community to be left behind when the country attained its developed nation status by 2020.

“As a minister I have gone to every corner of the community (Bidayuh) but still there are Bidayuhs in the rural areas who do not see and understand the benefits of education.

“They’re still so narrow-minded in their thinking ... saying things like, what’s the use of sending your children to school or university when out there are so many jobless people,” he told The Star after officiating at the closing of the eighth series of World Bidayuh Golf Championship (WBGC) played at the Siol Demak Course of the Kelab Golf Sarawak during the weekend.

Manyin said back in the 50s and 60s illiteracy and mortality rate among the Bidayuh community was so high.

Then, the majority of the members of the community were living in poverty, so much so that some Bidayuh, at that time, were ashamed to even identify themselves as Bidayuh, he recalled.

“But now our literacy rate is already parallel with the other communities and the Bidayuh are now proud to be called Bidayuh.

“We have progressed by leaps and bounds and all these happen because more and more Bidayuh have attained good academic qualifications.

“We have to acknowledge that education is the only way for our community to improve our standard of living.

“Our children must be given the best education,” said Manyin.

The minister said the Bidayuh should be prepared to face the future when the country attained a developed nation status, where the country’s per capita income was forecasted to be between RM48,000 and RM60,000 or a minimum income of RM4,000 a month.

“Light the candle and do not curse the tunnel. Also do not be crabs in our community and don’t blame others for our weaknesses and failures if we ourselves don’t even want to lift a finger to help ourselves,” he lamented.

Manyin said ideally the Bidayuh should be positioned in the middle class by the year 2020.

He said more Bidayuh should involve themselves in economic activities, adding that they should start to broaden their economic base and had better business networking among themselves and other communities.

A successful Bidayuh businessman Albert Tanon won this year’s tournament when he denied defending champion Magit Semong of his third consecutive title in the tournament.

Tanon netted a gross score of 78, one score better than Magit to win the Datuk Seri Michael Manyin Jawong Challenge Trophy.

Third place in the gross event went to Anthony Rupeau with a gross score of 84 while fourth placing is Lester Simbas (85).

Some 45 Bidayuh golfers including three female golfers participated in the competition.

Meanwhile in the nett event, Christine Ruda with handicap of 21 showed that she was better than her male competitors when she made the nett score of 70 to win the title.

The first runner-up went to Andrew Peter Joseph with a handicap of 13, who made nett score of 71 and Dominie Siron Rujin finished third placing while fourth position was grabbed Joseph Richard Michael Ruda.
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Cincilin the fairest

Cincilin Voon, 17, of Kampung Mundai, Padawan stepped on the stage with full confidence and her intelligently in answering the question asked has attracted the judges and at the end of the competition she was voted “Dayung Pimaguh Bisapug 2012” .

The beauty contest attracted eleven contestants and was held at Kampung Pesa, Padawan community hall on Saturday night.

A Form Five student at SMK Jalan Arang, Cincilin whose ambition is to become an accountant walked away with RM800 cash prize, a trophy, certificate and a hamper. Cincilin father is from Kampung Mundai and her mother from Kampung Sudad.

First runner-up was 17-year-old Marie Assunta Lester from Kampung Simpok. A Form Five student of SMK Siburan whose ambition was to become a doctor received RM500 cash prize, a trophy, certificate and a hamper.

Lower Six student of SMK Tarat, Christhebella Sophia Philip, a 18-year-old of Kampung Mundai was adjudged third in the competition. Christhebella whose ambition was to become a teacher won RM300 cash prize, a trophy, certificate and hamper.

The consolation winners were Rebekka Junes Asung, Veronica John, Donna Sikanok, Belinda Cheristin, Eugeen Albanio, Jacqualine Ayong, Belinda Evon Waterson and Elleanadia Sow. They each received RM100 cash prize.

The competition attracted huge number of spectators from nearby villages.

Before the competition started, the contestants invited the guests to the ceremonial house ‘baruk’ for the traditional Bidayuh dinner.  

The competition is held once in every two years and this year the competition is organised by the Sarawak Bisapug Association (SBA) in collaboration with the Central Bisapug Community Development Committee and was graced by the association’s patron Albert Tanon.

The competition was held for the first time in 2008 and was won by Livonia Ricky Guing, who went on to win the “Miss Borneo Beautiful 2009” and later emerged the champion in the RTM 2 reality show ‘Pilih Kaseh 2’ in 2011. The second “Dayung Pimaguh Bisapug 2010” was Debbie David Sarob.

The contestants were judged on their beauty, costumes, intelligence and pose.

The contestants were between 16 to 25-year-old and of Bisapug parentage, and had not won any other beauty contest.

SBA’s president Paul Kawin Pipo said the purpose of the competition was to promote the unique and rich culture and heritage of the Bisapug Bidayuh community.

He said through the competition, SBA is also trying to instil 1Bisapug spirit among the community and to enhance mutual respect among the all the Bidayuh clans.

“We in the Bisapug community are related to each other and as such we should have 1Bisapug spirit and work hand in hand with each other,” said Paul.

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Cornelia is 'Dayung Iyang Siburan 2012'

KUCHING: A matriculation graduate, Cornelia Natashia Ernest,18, outshone nine other contestants to win the ‘Dayung Iyang Siburan 2012’ beauty contest held at Kampung Seratau Communbity Hall yesterday night.

Cornelia flanked by Madelina (right)
and Claudia (left). 

As the title winner, Cornelia from Kampung Seratau and is waiting for the offer from universities to further her study, walked away with RM800 cash prize, a trophy, a hamper from Nescafe and certificate.

The first runner-up went to Madelina Lija, a 21-year-old student of Universiti Teknokogi Malaysia (UiTM) Mukah.

Hailed from Kampung Seratau, Madelina received RM500 cash, a trophy, a hamper from Nescafe and certificate while third place winner is Claudia Delis Peter Kutai, 26, of Kampung Sungai Du-uh and she received RM300 cash, a trophy, a hamper from Nescafe and a certificate.

The consolation prizes winners were Tiffany Abby Miounsey, Catilina Kaleen Guyut, Georgina Allisson Guyut, Kimberly Freddie, Betsy Lonia Thomas Budis, Helena Handri and Jessica Degaul. They all received hampers from Nescafe.

The inaugural competition was organised by Kampung Seratau Women’s Bureau in conjunction with this year’s Gawai celebration.

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Baru on the 18-Point Agreement

PKR State Assemblyman fir Ba’kelalan Baru Bian has urged the state government to look into Sarawak’s rights as set out in the 18-Point Agreement during the formation of Malaysia. Baru was concerned that the state’s rights had been slowly and insidiously eroded without anyone realising it.

Highlighting several areas of concern, he said it was agreed that there should be no state religion in Sarawak as the state was of a different ethnic composition from Peninsular Malaysia.

“The absence of a state religion is a hallmark of Sarawak agreeing to join in the formation of Malaysia in 1963, due to the wisdom of our forefathers who acknowledged that Sarawak is a land for all creeds or beliefs to mutually prosper and grow with respect for each other’s rights and freedom,” he said during the debate on the Head of State’s address in the State Assembly yesterday.

As such, Baru said he was disturbed to note that the State Planning Unit’s publication Sarawak Facts and Figures 2010 stated on page two that Islam was the official religion of Sarawak.

He requested clarification on this matter and hoped for reassurance that this point of the agreement had not been amended or taken away.

Baru called for clarification on whether there was an official language for Sarawak as the same publication had stated that Bahasa Malaysia was the official language.

He said the 18-Point Agreement preserved the use of English as one of the state’s official languages, a right that was further safeguarded in the Federal Constitution.

“We are perhaps the only State Assembly in Malaysia which allows any language spoken in Sarawak to be used in this August House. On that premise, there cannot be an official language for Sarawak,” he said.

He added that more Sarawakians should be appointed to senior state and Federal government positions in Sarawak as called for in the “Borneonisation” clause of the 18-Point Agreement.

On another matter, Baru said the setting up of moral or religious clubs in schools should be made clear to the principals.

He said such clubs should be encouraged rather than hindered through red tape or preconditions because they provided a firm grounding in spiritual and moral values in youths, which in turn would keep them from straying into lives of crime in their later years.

“As a Christian, I wish to acknowledge the contributions made by the Inter-School Christian Fellowship (ISCF) in many schools throughout Sarawak before and after my time in the 1970s.

“But unfortunately some schools are not very open to have such clubs or religious bodies formed in their schools today,” he said.

Referring to one case, he said an application to set up ISCF in SMK Merapok was rejected by the principal on the ground that there was no approval from the state education director.

As such, Baru asked the minister in charge to make a clear stand on this matter.
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