Sipat and Sadia members in a photo call before the discussion.
KUCHING: Iban leaders from Sarawak and Indonesia’s Kalimantan Barat came together to discuss and compare customs in a forum entitled ‘Adat Asal Iban Borneo Antara Menua’ (Bilateral Borneo Iban Cultural Exchange) Thursday.
A 12-member group from Kalimantan Barat led by Herculanus Sutomo from the Sarakop Iban Batasan Putussibau (Sipat) met their counterparts from the Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) led by its president Sidi Munan.
They discussed and shared customs of both sides and looked at where the customs had hindered development in terms of marriage and co-existence and how best they could improve the Iban customs.
“This discussion is about Dayak Iban customs of both sides of the border between Sadia and Sipat. We want to compare our customs, share our problems and we want to work together to help each other to find out the best custom that can be applied in modern days for modern lives,” Sidi told The Borneo Post yesterday.
He said they hoped to achieve some kind of agreement between the two groups in terms of preserving their customs, culture and traditions, such as preserving the finer aspect of their culture like respecting parents and the elderly.
He also expressed their hope to have bigger meetings and conferences in the near future in exploring possibilities of working together as a group to preserve the rights of the indigenous tribe.
Apart from that, he said they also discussed human rights, land rights, while stressing they were looking forward to work within the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous People (UNDrip).
“The Ibans in Indonesia are the minority. Here in Sarawak we may be the majority, but in Malaysia as a whole, we are minority and minorities can go extinct.
People can go extinct like plants.” Just like the Chinese who want to preserve their culture such as emphasizing on Chinese education, Sidi said the Ibans too wanted to preserve themselves and their culture, and become a viable part of the population.
“Since we are exposed to modern world and living in towns, we are exposed to all sorts of culture and influences.
“We want to sort them and see where we can fit in,” he said.
When asked on the customs or culture that were slowly fading due to modern world and lives, he said: “Loss of respect towards parents is one of the things, people begin to question their parents.
There are so many things that I cannot tell specifically.
“Long ago, in Iban longhouses, they didn’t have doors, no keys and no locks because in the past the Ibans didn’t steal from their neighbours.
“Homosexuality was never heard of in the Iban culture.In the past, those who commited incest would be killed.
“But today, anything can happen, anyone can become anything,” he added.
Among those from Sadia members present were head of Sarawak Native Customs Council Datuk Nillie Tangai, former deputy head of the council Nicholas Bawin Anggat, former deputy chief minister Datuk Seri Daniel Tajem and former deputy minister of agriculture Dato Sri Edmund Langgu Saga.
The Kalimantan delegation included Professor Emeritus Samsuni Arman and Dr Hermansyah from the University Tanjungpura, Pontianak.