SAYA SOKONG APA KEBANA CAKAP

Kenyah Badeng object to being called ‘Lun Daya’



KUCHING: The Kenyah Badeng Association Sarawak (Kebana) said they do not agree with the term ‘Lun Daya’ because of its negative meaning in their mother tongue.

Kebana publicity chief Daniel Bampa explained yesterday that in the Kenyah Badeng language, ‘Lun’ comes from the word ‘Ulun’ which means ‘slaves’ while ‘Daya’ is a type of tray being used only by uncivilised people.

“So we from the Kebana feel that the term ‘Lun Daya’ brings bad image to our community which is the second largest group after the Kenyah Lepo Tau. We do not want to be called slaves,” he said to The Borneo Post.

He said the Kebana’s position is that the term Orang Ulu should not be changed because it is legally recognised, accepted and written as such in the Federal Constitution while the term ‘Lun Daya’ does not mean anything good to his Kenyah Badeng community.

“The term ‘Lun Daya’, even how wise you explain it, the semantic of the word to the Kenyah Badeng community remains hurting, improper, depriving, impolite and very immoral,” he said.

He said because of that Kebana passed a resolution at its Central Committee Meeting held in Bintulu last March that they would not accept any move by any person or party to change the term ‘Orang Ulu’.

“Any such move will be subjected to our option to take legal action. Thus we request without further delay that those who had publicly used the term ‘Lun Daya’ to make a public apology so that such term will never be used again in reference to any member of the Orang Ulu community,” he said.

He pointed out that the outcome of the recent symposium of Federation of the Orang Ulu Malaysia (Forum) in Miri stated that the term ‘Lun Daya’ had no place in the Orang Ulu community.

“It has never been accepted in our (Orang Ulu) community and there was no agreement, discussion or consensus amongst the delegates to use the term in place of ‘Orang Ulu’,” he said.

Using the term ‘Lun Daya’ in public, he said, would not only result in confusion but an ‘impolite’ reference to the community.

He said during the national Gawai Open House here on June 13, the community was disturbed emotionally by an announcement made by the master of ceremony (MC) when she used the term ‘Lun Daya’ in reference to the Orang Ulu.

Daniel said while 1Malaysia propagated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak sought to unite all Malaysians as one, the term ‘Lun Daya’ would contribute to splitting the Orang Ulu because of different interpretations.

“In the concept of 1Malaysia, Bahasa Melayu is the language to unite the people of Malaysia. Thus, the term Orang Ulu which is written in Malay must be well respected, appreciated and accepted with no questions. We from Kebana do not allow our community to be seen or labelled as anti-Malay language because we love the term in its Malay form,” he said.

Based on the Encyclopedia Book of Knowledge, he said, every nation has its own people who dwell in the upper part of their respective country.

“In Africa, Brazil, Europe, America, Australia among others, their respective rural people are called ‘Highlanders’,” he said, adding that it is the term as written in English.

So, in Borneo, where Malay is the lingua franca, the term ‘Highlanders’ is best replaced by the term ‘Orang Ulu’.

“If leaders or professionals feel that the term ‘Orang Ulu’ is depriving and down-grading, they should use that situation as a turning point to popularise the term among other communities. Use that situation as an opportunity to explain that the community is an asset and members are quality citizens of Borneo,” he said.

He said it was the responsibility of leaders to ensure that the community gain recognition otherwise any attempt to change its name would be seen as a form of escapism for the failings of the leaders of the community.

He invites members of the public to contact him at 013-8233954 or Kebana for detailed information.