HIGHLY DEFAMATORY: Chambai looks at the photocopy of the article.
SIBU: An article titled “Of Skulls and Sago Worms” published in Volume 44 of the Asian Beacon magazine is “demeaning, degrading, insulting and highly defamatory” to the Iban community, said Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) Sibu branch.
Its branch chairman Chambai Lindong said the article had painted a wrong perception of the Ibans.
The writer, Henry Ng, who serves with KK Eagles, an outreach ministry focusing on evangelisation to the rural communities, mentioned in paragraph 8 of his article that leeches, fried ants, and bee pupae were among the food of the Ibans.
Paragraph 12 of his article mentioned: “The Ibans generally enjoy smoking and drinking, and they often get drunk during festive seasons or special occasions like weddings. They are also inclined to be immoral. I have seen men from another longhouse entering a different longhouse to look for women. After drinking ‘tuak’ or rice wine, the inhabitations are lowered and sexual activities are common. Mothers are known to have offered their daughters for sex in the hope that the men will marry their daughters.”
Not only that, Ng wrote that many Ibans suffered from hypertension as a result of high salt intake because “they do not have refrigerators and they therefore use salt on all their leftovers to preserve the food”.
Chambai, who is a lawyer, said there were many factual errors in the write-up.
“It is very sickening to read this kind of article. This is demeaning, degrading, insulting and highly defamatory to our community.
“What he wrote will make the Ibans look like a loose society. Every sensible Ibans must condemn this article,” he said when met at his office in Kampong Nyabor Road here yesterday.
Chambai believed Ng wrote based on what he suspected, and not through research.
He said the writer must apologise to the community.
Meanwhile, Bernama quoted Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Datuk Joseph Salang as saying that he was shocked after reading the article.
Moreover, it was written by a Christian missionary and published in a Christian magazine, he said.
He said it was beyond his understanding that a Christian missionary “can fantasise such romantic ideas” and come out with an article full of contempt.
“I never heard Ibans eat leeches or fried ants.”
Salang said not many Ibans smoked now compared to the past where they smoked to repel mosquitoes and midges while working on paddy fields.
While asking the writer to apologise to the Ibans, he said if the writer feared God, which he should as a missionary, he should read the Bible more so as not to hurt the feelings of others.
Ngemah assemblyman Alexander Vincent, too, was shocked by the article.
“The writer should change his profession because what he is doing is causing more harm to Christianity.”