Lating pointed out that despite omitting the Gawai Dayak Festival in the school calendar last year the Ministry of Education seemed to be making the same mistake this year.
KAPIT (Jan 6): Despite missing out Gawai Dayak Festival as a holiday in the school calendar last year (2021) the Ministry of Education (MOE) seems to be omitting the same holiday in the school calendar this year.
In noting that the MOE appeared to be repeating the same mistake, Walikota of Kapit District Council, Lating Minggang, said it could not be helped if the Dayaks thought it was more of a choice and also, by design.
He said as taught in History books Malaysia is a multi-racial and a multi-cultural nation.
Thus, this sort of misjudgment and error in decision making by the relevant ministry is simply inexcusable, he added.
He stressed that Gawai Dayak is celebrated annually in Sarawak by the Dayaks, the largest community in the state.
“It is this small, but yet, a very significant thing, of a selective omission of cultural festive day. It’s still not too late to undo these mistakes in order to reflect on our understanding of what a multi-cultural society means to Malaysia today. There is an urgent need to understand the cultural context of what is going on in Malaysia now, from the context of unity, inclusiveness and trust. Failure to ‘make and mend’ will undoubtedly add to the many breaches of trust that have been accumulated over the years ever since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963,” commented Lating.
Lating pointed out that when people honour each other, there is a trust established, that leads to synergy, interdependence and deep respect.
“Both parties make decisions and choices based on what is right, what is best, what is valued most highly,” he said.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3Hwg2uK
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment