Prof Dimbab Ngindang answering some of the questions from the delegates.
KUCHING: About 1,000 Dayaks attended the one-day Dayak National Conference (DNC) at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) today.
The conference themed “Forging Dayak Political and Economic Convergence” was organised with the objectives to provide a channel for Dayak experts to share their ideas and opinions on Dayak political road map, economic issues and NCR land development model based on current political scenario.
Apart from that, it aimed to show Dayak grassroots’ capability to rise to the occasion, to adapt, empower and encourage change in the community.
The conference, organised by Dayak Round Table (DRT) among others, presented three papers, namely “Unemployment Among Natives of Sabah and Sarawak”; “Political Economy of NCR Land Development”; and “Malaysia Baru and the Dayak Agenda: Are we seeing light at the end of the tunnel”.
Chairman of the organising committee Patrick Sibat Sujang, in his speech, said that there is a need for general consensus building, which could be achieved through organising series of DNC.
Having said that DNC 2018 in Kuching was the first in the series as more DNCs are planned in other locations throughout the state, Patrick added that the committee felt very honoured to have the support of many Dayak NGOs in organising DNC 2018.
In the afternoon’s “Conclusions from the Questions and Answers” chaired by Associate Professor Ricardo Baba, some of the agenda being discussed included restorations of NCR Land, Dayak Chief Minister, equal participation in public services and equal opportunities in education under Malaysia Baru.