Dusit (left) and Mengga exchanging MoU documents.
KUCHING: Dayak-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) must work hand-in-hand with political leaders if they are truly genuine in fighting for their community.
Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA) and Dayak National Congress (DNC) in a joint statement said none of them could do the work alone.
Their spokesperson, SDGA president Dr Dusit Jaul, said this after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two bodies for greater cooperation and collaboration.
“What we see today may be the signing of MoU solely between SDGA and DNC, but later on we hope that other Dayak NGOs such as Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU), Dayak Bidayuh National Asssociation (DBNA) and Orang Ulu National Association (OUNA) would also follow suit.
“We believe that it would be even better if all political leaders from the community could also do the same,” he said.
Dusit said among the challenges that the Dayaks were facing now was the near extinction of the community’s cultures and identity.
On this, he said both SDGA and DNC would organise Borneo Cultural Extravaganza here by April or May next year, where all the Dayaks from the state, Sabah, Kalimantan and Brunei would come together.
Meanwhile, DNC president Mengga Mikui said the two organisations were not only teaming up with Dayak bodies but also looking forward to working closely with NGOs of other communities in the country.