Haris (front row, third left) handing over duty to Laing, witnessed by Dennis (middle) and other central exco members.
MIRI (March 3): Sarawak government should consider creating community leader posts for the Kayan community in the urban areas of the state.
Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau said Sarawak Kayan Association had highlighted this matter during its central executive committee meeting at Dynasty Hotel Miri on Sunday.
“During our recent central executive committee meeting at Dynasty Hotel on Sunday, we touched on the subject to create community leader posts for the Kayan community living in Miri, Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching.
“Looking at the big number of Kayans living in the town areas, we felt there is a need to create community leaders to look after the welfare and interest of the Kayan people in urban areas,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Dennis, who is the association’s president, viewed the matter as urgent as the existing Kayan community leaders were busy with their charges in the rural areas.
Thus, he really hoped that the state government would give consideration to the proposal.
He suggested that the state government could start by creating a Kayan community leader post for Miri City before extending it to other town areas such as Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching.
He recalled that a similar request for a Kayan community leader post for Miri City was made a few years before.
“During that time, the Miri District Office asked the association to conduct a survey on such matter. The survey had been done and the result showed that more than 5,000 Kayan people were living and owning a house in the city.
“I believe the number of Kayan people in Miri now has reached more than 10,000. Therefore, we urge the government to consider creating such community leader post for Kayan people living in Miri City.”
Touching on the association, he said various activities had been planned for this year, such as the Kayan carnival in Long Lama, annual dinner, providing student incentives and many others.
Later at the same event, Dennis together with other executive committee members witnessed the handing-over of duty between the association’s outgoing secretary-general Haris Jau Wan to the new secretary-general Laing Uvang.