CM: Bajau community can create regional network

KOTA KINABALU: The Bajau community in the country, especially in Sabah, can create an excellent network with Bajau communities in the Southeast Asia region.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman said the move would enable the community to share information for mutual benefits and prosperity.

“Relevant studies related to the Bajau community in several countries in this region can also be conducted as sharing of information and facts for the benefit of current and future generations is more accurate,” he said at the opening of the International Bajau Conference here yesterday.

His text of speech was read by Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak.

Musa said the conference was able to contribute to the cross-cultural development among the various ethnic groups that further enhanced the harmony of ethnic culture in the country in tandem with current development.

He said the Bajau community had played a vital role and contributed significantly in various fields such as politics, administration, economy and social.

“This is a benchmark that they are able to prove their ability to compete with other communities,” he said, adding that this achievement was also a reflection that the Bajau community had always fulfilled their responsibilities in terms of racial, religious and national interests.

Meanwhile Salleh, who is also from the Bajau community, said the conference could further strengthen the ties between the Bajau communities of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines and enhance their role in contributing towards their respective countries.

Earlier Sabah Bajau Language and Culture Association president Chenderamata Sinteh said the inaugural conference was held with the objective to conserve and develop the Bajau language and culture through research and documentation.

It was also a platform for comparative studies of Bajau in the region, especially Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, he added.