In response to the rumours yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun explained that the tabling of the proposal was held back because Bumiputera Minority Technical Committee head cum Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Dato Sri Douglas Uggah Embas, had just returned from a holiday and he wanted to have a thorough look at the paper.
He added it would only be tabled two weeks from now as there would be no meeting next Wednesday due to Awal Muharam, which is a public holiday.
“I will table the proposal at the next federal cabinet meeting for its approval,” said Entulu.
He added that it was not right for any quarters to make sweeping statements that the proposal had been rejected by the federal government.
The decision is a much-awaited because the Dayaks take offence in being called ‘others’, as if suggesting that they are aliens. The Dayaks in the state are broadly divided into Ibans, Orang Ulus and Bidayuhs.
Many Dayak-based NGOs also argued that ‘Dayak’ refers to either a race or group of races while the term ‘Bumiputera’ refers to their status in obtaining special rights.
Apart from leading Dayak-based NGOs, political parties, politicians, intellectuals and community leaders have been calling for this change. They agreed that the term ‘Dayak’ is preferable as it had been used for hundreds of years in the state, being the common term to refer to all indigenous races.-Borneo Post
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