Earning her place in community
Housewife-turned-chieftain always determined to uplift lives of fellow villagers
ON July 26, 2014, housewife Suda Majoy, 52, was appointed by the residents of her longhouse at Tanjung Keling, Batang Lebaan in Daro to be the new ‘tuai rumah’ (chieftain).
Her task, at the time, was to lead the villagers as they relocated to a new area in Bawang Assan in search of advancement and development, as well as for the sake of their children’s future.
“From the time I was born until I was in my 40s, I never experienced development at my old place.
“Nothing had changed since the time of our ancestors. There was no electricity, no water supply and no road; the children were falling behind in their education because schools were too far away.
“There’s a school, SK Sungai Lengan, but it’s not a boarding school and located quite a distance away for us to travel there every day.
“The nearest boarding school is SK Bawang Assan, but even to get there would necessitate us to take a two-hour boat ride and walk through the jungle,” she told thesundaypost here.
Suda said she had been in boarding schools – at SK Bawang Assan and later SMK Durin – ever since she was seven years old, and only during occasions like Gawai, Christmas or funerals would she return to her old longhouse.
The villagers have long been aware that the Bawang Assan area is being developed in terms of schools, infrastructure, electricity, water and roads.
“We thought that rather than waiting for advancement and development to come for us, it would be better to find them ourselves.
“Some villagers decided to remain in the old longhouse
– a decision that I understood – many others supported this move,” she said.
‘Felt like crying’
Suda’s first task as a tuai rumah was to plan the construction of the longhouse on the existing site. She must also ensure that everyone was on the same page.
She said it was a heavy responsibility, one requiring solid commitment and resilience.
“Looking back, I really felt like crying having to lead so many people and build this longhouse, especially in a place that’s foreign to us as we’re not native to that area.
“I told them that the most important thing was to ignore negativity because we’re not only doing it for ourselves, but also to see our children succeed.”
Suda bought a 16-acre site to build their current longhouse, after which her charges – each having a share of the land – gradually repaid her.
Everyone was focused on completing the longhouse and used every cent that they had to see it through, she recalled.
This endeavour required them to travel between the original site and Bawang Assan twice a month, up until the completion of the new longhouse in 2017.
Today, the 27-‘pintu’ (units) Rumah Suda Majoy houses 193 residents, and is equipped with electricity and clean water supply, as well as road and Internet access.
The longhouse is always full of people, and the children go to school without having to stay at the hostel.
“I even have my own business where I sell crafts,” said a beaming Suda.
In 2018, Rumah Suda established its own village security and development committee (JKKK), under which the ‘tuai rumah’ set up 13 bureaus to ensure that the longhouse would be well-run and all aspects would be well taken care of.
The JKKK meet six times a year to discuss matters such as safety, hygiene and cleanliness, education, as well as plan their yearly activities.
Since then, Rumah Suda has become one of the most active longhouses in Sibu.
Attaining national recognition
In 2022, the longhouse was selected by Sibu District Office to compete in the nationwide ‘Pertandingan Aspirasi Kampung Sejahtera’ under the ‘Traditional Village/Longhouse’ category.
“We did not know anything about the competition since our longhouse was still new.
“We were told to continue with our current efforts and identify areas for improvements, especially regarding the longhouse’s profile and report.
“The officers came to do the inspection and judging. The process took about two months, and among the criteria for judging were cleanliness, safety, landscape, innovation and economy,” said Suda.
Their efforts paid off when they were announced the category winner, earning them the RM30,000 prize money, which was utilised for the development of their longhouse.
“We scored the highest points in the innovation aspect. I did not know what they meant by ‘innovation’ until I was told by the people in charge, that our longhouse’s walls, windows and safety designs were all ‘innovations’,” she laughed.
Suda said she designed the longhouse herself and to ensure uniformity, she strongly recommended to her charges to not make any changes to their respective units, to which they agreed.
“All units including the ‘ruai’ (common area) have the same window size and features to ensure that light can shine through, and also each of them to have the same colour.
“Although the longhouse looks modern, it still upholds the traditional concept.”
Now a mentor for two other longhouses in Bawang Assan, namely Rumah Jimbun and Rumah Helena, Suda works closely with their respective JKKKs on maintaining cleanliness, ways to make the longhouses hospitable, as well as coming up with means to boost the economy of the people.
The mother of five said all these would not be possible without the people’s support, especially from her husband Dennis Ikau.
“Most importantly, everyone wants advancement. If we want to accomplish it, we need to be on the same page.
“I hope that the people here would maintain the good work and that our youngsters would continue attending school.
“I have worked very hard to get everyone relocated to and set up this new place.
“Now that we have made some advancements, we still need to keep searching for more and work harder for the sake of this longhouse, and our future generation,” she stressed.