Riot raising the matter in Parliament on Thursday.
KUCHING (March 1): The federal government should declare Sarawak’s and Sabah’s harvest festivals, Gawai Dayak and Pesta Kaamatan, as national public holidays, said Dato Sri Richard Riot Jaem.
In making the call, the Serian MP said the recognition is crucial because both Dayak and Kadazan-Dusun communities also play their part in nation-building.
“It is a two-day (holiday) which is 31 (May) for the Kaamatan Festival for the Kadazan Dusun people in Sabah while June 1 is for Hari Gawai for the Dayak people in Sarawak.
“This is because during this festival, not only the Kadazan Dusun community celebrates it, not only the Dayak community celebrates it, but almost all races in Sabah and Sarawak welcome and celebrate it,” he said at the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.
Riot said despite his multiple calls voicing out the matter, these two significant cultural days have yet to be declared as national holidays since the formation of Malaysia in September 1963.
He said he was informed that both festivals could not be included in the list of national holidays as Malaysia already had too many public holidays.
He, however, viewed such an excuse as unacceptable, saying that Malaysia would not exist today if Sabah and Sarawak had not joined Malaya and Singapore.
“However, the minister stated that Malaysia has too many public holidays… 14 days if I am not mistaken.
“But why not, this is very important because it must be remembered that without Sarawak, without Sabah, there is no Malaysia,” he stressed.
Previously, a group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) called on the federal government to declare Gawai Dayak and Pesta Kaamatan national public holidays.
The NGOs comprise Sarawak Indigenous Intellectual Association (Perantis), Terabai Menua Association (TM) and Persatuan Masyarakat Salako dan Rara Sarawak (Perasa).
In January last year, TM, Perasa and six other NGOs also called for Gawai Dayak and Kaamatan to be declared national public holidays.
They proposed the government declare May 31 a national public holiday for Kaamatan and June 1 for Gawai Dayak.
The organisations also said that the elected representatives from Sabah and Sarawak in Parliament had tried to advocate for the festivals to be listed as national public holidays.
According to them, recognising the two dates as national holidays will strengthen national unity.
“Making Gawai Dayak and Kaamatan Festival national holidays would not only promote awareness of these rich traditions but also allow individuals from Sarawak and Sabah working or residing outside their home state to celebrate their heritage with pride.”