Solve ‘non-Bumiputera’ status of Saban, Lakiput, urges PBDS Baru

KUCHING: Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru ( PBDS Baru) is calling on the state government to resolve the ‘ non-Bumiputera’ status of the Saban and Lakiput community in the state.

Its president Cobbold John said it is of utmost importance that issues affecting the indigenous people of Sarawak are looked into as part of the return of the state’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

He said this in a press statement yesterday in response to a March 25 report in The Borneo Post over the dissatisfaction of some Baram constituents that their race or ethnicity, particularly those from the Saban and Lakiput groups, were not officially recognised as Bumiputera.

“We in PBDS Baru urge the Sarawak government to do their part as soon as possible because all these issues are piling up more and more due to the delay in resolving them.

“The plight of the Saban and Lakiput, in that their ethnic status is not recognised as Bumiputera, is a surprise to the Dayak community.”

Cobbold added that all this while, Dayak communities in the state have always assumed they are recognised as Bumiputera.

“It is a known fact that the Dayak community in Sarawak is very big, regardless whether an individual ethnic group is a majority or minority. Failure to recognise them as Bumiputera will relentlessly provide disadvantages to minorities like the Saban and Lakiput.

“This is why it is important to have the right people in the State Legislative Assembly and Parliament to represent the native people to voice out such issues and agendas, especially when many such issues remain unresolved.”