Andrew Bugie Ipang
KUCHING (July 7): Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) has questioned the research mechanism and procedures used to purportedly prove that Sarawak is the second oldest Malay state in the world after Kedah.
PBDSB information chief Andrew Bugie Ipang said the party also questioned how former Sarawak Museum director Datu Dr Sanib Said could claim that Sarawak was formerly known as Santubong.
“May we remind Sanib that Santubong as a settlement does not refer to Sarawak as a whole. Likewise, neither does Kuching refer to Sarawak in its entirety,” said Andrew.
PBDSB was reacting to a Bernama report quoting Sanib saying advances in research have succeeded in proving that Sarawak, formerly known as Santubong, is the second oldest Malay state in the world.
Sanib was further quoted as saying that progress in the research also proved that Santubong had existed since 300 BC, while the oldest Malay state Kedah had existed since 500 BC.
According to Andrew, radiocarbon dating is the accepted method used to determine the age of biological remains and DNA tests are used to determine the ancient ancestry of any human remains.
He suggested as such there should be archaeological digs in Santubong and its surrounding areas for human remains to undergo DNA and radio carbon dating tests.
He explained such testing would determine and confirm the ethnicity of the remains and their estimated date of existence.
According to Andrew, archaeologists have proven that a 40,000-year-old human skull in Niah cave was of Iban descent by way of DNA test and radio carbon testing.
He added that historians are unable to prove such claims without the latest technologies used extensively by scientists, due to the lack of written records from the past.
He also urged historians not to make claims unsubstantiated by scientific proof for the sake of racial harmony, peace, and unity.