Nanta (fourth right) hands over the completed Aedil membership application forms from the seminar participants to Aedil chairman Dr Lambat Lindong.
KAPIT: Association for the Educational Development of Iban Language (Aedil) has been praised for taking the initiative to host a seminar on the teaching of Iban language at Rumah Engking, Jalan Selirik, on Saturday.
Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi said Aedil’s move deserved everyone’s support as it was meant to help the Iban community use and speak their mother tongue correctly and accurately.
“The seminar is of great significance to the way of life and future of the Iban language and the community as a whole”, he said when officiating at the event, which had the support of the Education Department here.
To further help develop the Iban language, Nanta hoped Aedil would form smart partnerships with other non-governmental organisations as Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU), Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia), Sarakup Indu Dayak Sarawak (SIDS), Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association, Dayak Cultural Foundation and the Tun Jugah Foundation.
He added that the main focus of the Tun Jugah Foundation, for instance, was on the research of Iban oral tradition such as ‘Pantun’, ‘Bebiau’ and ‘Sabak’. It had also published many books on these oral traditions.
“Language is something dynamic, and it has to progress and change with time to remain relevant.
“ Hence, the Iban language needs to be versatile and flexible to keep pace with change, even if it meant adding some ‘loan words,” he said.
“Let us all uphold the Iban language, our tradition and the ‘adat’ so that we can make our presence felt in the global community and sustain it so that it will not become a lost heritage in the future”.
On politics, Nanta, who is also Kapit MP, urged his constituents, especially those in Pelagus, to rally behind the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in the next state election.
“I cannot deliver and work alone. I need the support of the state assemblyman to further plan for the development of Pelagus, which is a predominantly Iban constituency.
“If the Pelagus assemblyman is from the BN, then we can plan for a better and speedier development.”
Pelagus, which is traditionally given to BN component party PRS, was won by Independent candidate George Lagong in the last state polls in April 2011.
Lagong later joined Sarawak Workers Party (SWP), but in May this year he switched to Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras).
“I hope PRS will select the correct candidate to win back Pelagus. Whoever is the candidate fielded by BN, I call on all of you to give your full support to him to ensure a BN victory.”
At the gathering, Nanta gave a RM8,000 grant to Aedil to enable it to organise more activities to promote the Iban language.