Dusit (right) presenting the Dayak input for the 11th Malaysia Plan to Nik Azman at the EPU office, Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya yesterday.
KUCHING: The Dayak input over the 11th Malaysia Plan (11th MP) has proposed to the federal government to set up a new policy to assist indigenous people.
The new policy – the National Indigenous Development Policy (NIDP) – would oversee all government programmes and activities to develop the Dayak and other native groups in the state throughout the 11th MP period of 2016-2020. The input also suggested a RM2 billion allocation to assist the indigenous communities in various sectors of development within the next five years.
“The RM2 billion is to complement other development programmes under the 11th MP. The Dayak input encompasses all six strategic areas identified by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) such as green technology, human capital, education, poverty eradication, cultural and social development.
“Our proposal is comprehensive. It covers all six areas as mentioned in the EPU guideline for the preparation of the 11th MP,” Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA) president Dr Dusit Jaul told The Borneo Post after handing over the Dayak input to the EPU of the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya yesterday.
EPU deputy director-general Datuk Nik Azman Nik Majid received the documents.
Resolutions proposed under the Dayak input over the 11th MP were gathered last Sunday during a special workshop attended by representatives from various Dayak non-governmental organisations (NGOs), intellectual groups, academicians as well as Dayak politicians and community leaders.
The input had adopted and proposed an action plan for the development of the state’s natives, including the need for the government to assist indigenous communities in the development of their native customary rights (NCR) land. As far as Dayak interests are concerned, the conference unanimously agreed to the formation of the 11th Malaysia Plan Dayak Steering Committee to monitor the implementation of the 11th MP with senior minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing appointed chairman.
“This is to ensure that the Dayak and other indigenous communities will not be left behind in terms of development in the next five years,” Dusit added, while revealing that SDGA will act as the working secretariat to the committee.
Members of the high-level committee will comprise Dayak cabinet ministers at the state level including representatives from Dayak NGOs, senior government officers, academicians and community leaders.