The Iban: Contemporary Issues and Dilemmas.
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THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL |
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Title :
The Iban: Contemporary Issues and Dilemmas. |
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Author :
Michael Leigh |
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Abstract:
I was both delighted and humbled to receive your invitation to address this most important seminar. Delighted, because it was 25 years ago last January that the Sin Kapit-1 brought me here from Sibu one misty dawn. The first task upon arrival was to report to Tuan D.O., Datuk Peter Tinggom. He so spontaneously demonstrated to me, a naive young student^ the generosity of the Iban spirit. Humbled, as it is an awesome assignment for me, a foreign academic, to address this gathering of real experts on the Iban today. Thus I shall raise what I see as key issues and place them in a comparative perspective — as an opener for a discussion in which I shah again be the student. Before proceeding further, I should like to thank Datuk Amar Linggi, Dr. Peter Kedit and each of the organizers of this seminar, who have worked tirelessly to make it a success. The Iban today are in a crucial position in societyas the community that occupies vast areas of land. It is that land and its products — be it timber or crops — which is the source of most locally available wealth generated in the state. Iban were given special recognition in that regard by the Brookes and the Colonial Administration. The Cobbold Commission in 1962 saw Iban views towards entering Malaysia as pivotal to the founding of the new nation and made clear that the very formation of Malaysiawas dependent upon the support of the ‘Dayak’ peoples.
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| DOI: XXXX |
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How to cite:
Leigh, M. (1989). The Iban: Contemporary Issues and Dilemmas. The Sarawak Museum Journal, XL (61): 97-104 |
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References
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