Bidayuhs want to incorporate language into education curriculum

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Manyin (second left) presents Dompok with a memento of pua kumbu. — Photo by Muhamad Rais Sanusi

Manyin (second left) presents Dompok with a memento of pua kumbu. — Photo by Muhamad Rais Sanusi

KUCHING: The Bidayuh community wants to emulate Sabah’s Kadazandusun community’s use of Pupils’ Own Language (POL) in the education curriculum.

Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communication Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong said he has discussed this topic in relation to the Bidayuh community.

“In Bidayuh, we have four dialects. This is very difficult, and we have to think about which one to use first,” he said when

receiving a courtesy call from Malaysian ambassador to the Vatican Tan Sri Bernard Giluk Dompok.

Dompok is the country’s first ambassador to the Holy See.

He received his appointment letter from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah at Istana Negara on March 17.

“I’ve met with leaders in Sabah, and now I’m in Sarawak.

“These two places have a concentration of Christian communities,” Dompok told reporters, adding that both states have a sense of universality.

He said in Sarawak everyone seems to be happy despite the different religions and cultures.

“I think it is an appropriate moment for me to come visit the leaders in Kuching before leaving for the Vatican City on April 16,” he said.

Besides Manyin, Dompok also paid a courtesy call on Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang.

Dompok was Sabah Chief Minister from 1998 to 1999 and later held federal cabinet posts as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities.