The Bidayuh Language Will Be Taught In Schools Once It Is Fully Developed

By Peter Sibon

KUCHING - The Bidayuh language will be taught in schools once it is fully developed, the Bidayuh Language Development (BLD) advisor Encik Peter Nansian Nguse said yesterday.

According to him the BLD has the expertise of three linguists from the United States and Singapore who volunteered their services for the development of the project.

"The main objective of the BLD is to gather enough materials for the Bidayuh language so that it could be taught in schools in the near future," said Nansian.

He added that Research and Development Movement of Singai (REDEEMS) had initiated the project some three years ago and it has managed to obtain some financial assistance from the State government through Yayasan Sarawak.

"But we also hope that the Bidayuh community would help out in this project as this is a community-based project. In order to promote the project we would officially launch it by early next year so that we could raise enough fund and at the same time we hope to get more volunteers to help out," added Nansian, who is also the Tasik Biru State Assemblyman.

The chief co-coordinator of BLD, Encik Jonas Noeb of the Majlis Adat Istiadat Sarawak disclosed that among the shortcomings of the projects were the lack of resources especially in terms of Bidayuh printed literatures and lack of Bidayuh linguists in the four main Bidayuh dialects that is the Serian, Biatah, Bau and Lundu (dialects).

"But we are very optimistic that the project would be successful as we know that the Bidayuh community as a whole is very supportive of the project," Jonas said.

"So even though we may lack the expertise in the field of language, we could still count on our volunteers from retired government servants especially teachers who have a holistic education backgrounds."

The co-ordinator for Bau and Lundu Temenggong Datu Stephen Jussem told the Tribune that the project was very important, to the Bidayuh community.

"I am very certain that our community as a whole will support the idea. This is the best chance for us to be united and standardise our language. So I urge all the four major communities to cooperate and work together to make the project a success so that our community will benefit from it," Jussem added.

Meanwhile, one of the three linguists attached to BLD, Dr. Calvin Rensch disclosed that the project had many stages.

"Among the essential stages would be the compilation of word lists, writing or spelling system, writings or literatures on all the Bidayuh dialects and finally to get the different dialects to come up with a dictionary to facilitate the development of the language," said Rensch, adding that he and his wife were involved in the project since the initial stage together with a Singaporean linguist Dr. Grace Tan. He disclosed that he would be leaving next month but there would be others who would come over from the US to assist in the project.

"My coming over here is sponsored by the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) which is based in Dallas, Texas, USA. But there would be others who would come over to assist in the project," added Rensch who had 47 years of experience in the field of linguistics to preserve and undertake language development projects especially ethnic languages which were bypassed by major languages in other parts of the world.

He hoped that the Bidayuh community would respond to the project pro-actively so that the Bidayuh language could be developed further.

Those interested to know more about the project can contact Encik Jonas Noeb at Majlis Adat Istiadat, Jabatan Ketua Menteri, Tingkat 4, Wisma Satok, Kuching. Tel. 234719 ex. 114.

There are many factors in Sarawak which can justify the setting up of community-based projects

Datuk Patinggi Alfred Jabu being briefed by Peter Nansian on the area of the REDEEMS Bamboo Botanical Park at Kpg Apar Singai Bau.
PHOTO: RAMIDI SUBARI

FROM EASTERN TIMES

By Harun Jau

BAU: There are many factors in Sarawak which can justify the setting up of community-based projects such as the Redeems Bamboo Botanical & Handicraft Development Centre at Kampung Apar in Singai, Bau.
This was pointed out by Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communications, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Anak Numpang. Such community-based projects may vary from region to region, depending on the circumstances and also on the various setting environments, the people, the terrains and also the area accessibility.

“I can see what is being initiated here is a very good project,” said Jabu, who is also Minister of Rural Development, when visiting the centre here yesterday.

The project introduced in 2003 was adopted by the United Nations Development Programme under the Global Environmental Facility Small Grant Programme, which had sponsored a fund of USD50,000.

Jabu has been advocating from the federal government that the fund under the intensification research priority areas to be channeled more to Sarawak because there are a lot of potentials to be exploited here.

Jabu is very thankful to Dr. Martin Abraham, the national coordinator for Global Environmental Facility Small Grant Programme, for convincing the Global Environmental Facility Small Grant Programme to come and assist in the project at Singai.

He also commended Tasik Biru’s assemblyman and President of REDEEMS, Peter Nansian Ngusie for his courage in initiating the project in the constituency.

He said the word REDEEMS sounded good and attractive and the location of the project was also very good. “I think anywhere within half an hour radius from Kuching is still a very vibrant part of the fast developing Kuching City. So this place is not rural anymore.”

He said the setting up of the Handicraft Development Centre at Kampung Apar, with its very modern Baruk as well as the library and IT facilities, would enable the place to be connected with all parts of the world.

“The Bidayuh community from this area should feel proud of the initiative taken by their leaders, adding that what is very interesting about the place is the bamboo project here,” he said.

Jabu would like Dr Martin Abraham to be invited to a discussion with the state’s administrator and planners because there are many areas as deserving as this one here in Singai.

“We must be in the forefront to plan and we must also be very brave to execute it. Once we have been able to start it our people will give strong support to a good project which has big potential to improve their livelihood,” he said.
Earlier, in his briefing on the project, Nansian said REDEEMS was a community-based organisation involved in capacity building.

The aim of the project was to develop the area into a community centre and a bamboo botanical park.
He said the mission was to mobilise the people to be involved in development. He said about RM1 million had so far been spent to develop the area.

Later, Jabu together with Nansian and Opar’s assemblyman Ranum Mina, Kemena’s assemblyman Dr. Stephen Rundi and Dr. Martin Abraham participated in the planting of young bamboo at the REDEEMS Bamboo Botanical Garden Park located near Kampung Apar, Singai.

Before the function at Kampung Apar, Jabu visited the Juara Beetuah Sdn Bhd’s oil palm nursery at Mile 18, Bau-Lundu Road, in Lundu. He was brought around to tour the nursery and briefed by Nansian, the chairman of Juara Beetuah Sdn Bhd.

Sarawak to KL: Give us more

FROM BORNEO POST ONLINE

Beneficial exploitation of State’s biodiversity potentials requires more funds for research: Jabu

KUCHING: The State government is eyeing more intensification research priority areas (IRPA) funds from the federal government because it has a lot of biodiversity potentials yet to be exploited, says Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu.

“I have been advocating for more IRPA funds to be channelled to Sarawak and I’m still pursuing it,” he said during a working visit to the Research and Development Movement of Singai, Sarawak (Redeems) centre and its Bamboo Botanical Park Project in Singgai near Bau yesterday.

He pointed out that the State government was very conscientious about preserving its flora and fauna, which had led it to taking bold steps when it came to environmental control.

“For instance, Sarawak insists that the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) level should be 20 parts per million on effluents before discharge from palm oil mills to rivers unlike in Peninsular Malaysia where its BOD requirement is 100 parts per million.

“It is important that we clean our rivers now or it would be next to impossible to rehabilitate them later. We need to look after our rivers so that the younger generation of scientists will be able to harness them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jabu praised Redeems’ efforts for its bamboo botanical park project, saying it was a good example of synergy between the government and the people.

He said the idea of the park couldn’t have come at a better time because bamboos were synonymous with the traditions of the native people in the State, such as the Bidayuh. Also, bamboos were vanishing species, and what was done by Redeems was something to be proud of.

Jabu said the park, which is grown with five species of bamboo, would open the people’s eyes in as far as uses and functions of bamboo to the people are concerned. It would also provide the local people the raw material for their handicraft in a sustainable manner.

Redeems president Peter Nansian earlier said that Redeems, together with United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP) had started the (park) project a year ago.

The project received US$50,000 as a start-up under the UNDP Global Environment Facility’s Small Grant Programme, and in 18 months since the project began, Redeems had been able to come up with RM150,000 in cash and RM50,000 in kind for the purpose.

Nansian pointed out that the bamboo park, sited on an idle community reserve land would serve partly as a bamboo museum and partly a resource centre for the economic development for the Singai people.

“Redeems is very much involved in mobilising the Singgai people to be self-sufficient, especially when it comes to economic development,” said Nansian, who is also Tasik Biru assemblyman.

He thus called on the people (of Singai) to believe in themselves, and urged them to come forward to work with Redeems.

“To make it a success though, the people should discard three negative attributes - perfectionist paralysis, armchair critic arthritis and egocentric syndrome,” he told them.

Before going to the centre and the park, Jabu visited an oil palm nursery along Bau-Lundu Road, belonging to Nansian’s company - Juara Beetuah Sdn Bhd.

Opar assemblyman Ranum Mina, Kemena assemblyman Dr Stephen Rundi, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Social Development and Urbanisation Ik Pahon Joyik, a political secretary to the Chief Minister, John David, and Temenggong Stephen Jussem were among those in the visiting party.