Kasam-smeared Merdeka Message

Posted by B4 on August 26, 2002 at 13:59:28:

Before Merdeka there were few Bidayuh
then DBNA was set up and was formally registered in late 1950s
Since then Bidayuh has increased in number up to around 170,000 today.
As a Bidayuh, do I know what's in store for me tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow?
and the day after?

Ah well, for one thing, it looks like I have to miss JNP8
For those of us who can make it, enjoy yourself, live in the now.
one thing I know for sure about the future is
that in future I'll be dead at one point in time.
But I'm not at all sure
if the tribe, Bidayuh, will be dead after me or with me.
How can I be sure about such a thing?
The question we all ought to raise now and again is this:
Do we, Bidayuh, have a future?
And as we try to ponder upon it
we must also ponder upon who we are
who are we to ID ourselves as BIDAYUH on this Blue Planet?
Why don't we ID ourselves as homo sexuals, oops sorry Lee Huat Hu,
as homo erectus, or homo sapiens?

I've read this quote, originating from E Cornish of Mryland, USA,
that "Once we start thinking seriously about the future,
we gain enormous power over the future.
First, we begin to recognize
that we have lots of choices
about what sort of future we can shape for ourselves.
Second, we can set long-term goals and
plan effectively so we can reach them.
So, thinking about the future is
a powerful tool for achieving long-term success
in our careers and other aspects of our lives."

Such dribble drags the ball into the mire
and why not, it's for a change, if not for any thing else.
It can't be overstressed that we must be ready for change.
In John F Kennedy's words several decades ago:
"Change is the law of life.
And those who look only to the past
or the present are certain to miss the future."
I note that that was said in front of a German audience in Frankfurt in 1963
the year that Sarawak changed from a colony
in the Commonwealth to a Malaysia also in the Common Well
Isn't Sarawak still a colony of Mr Lon Don et al
but of a nearer Per se kutu 1 based in Kay Al.
Why not refer to our PM's book "The Future of Dayak Bidayuh"?
You're most welcome to if you like but I'm talking about Bidayuh
and are they the same as Dayak Bidayuh?

Isn't history now repeating itself?
No lah you say. No, no, no.
If history truly repeats,
'there is nothing new under the sun', and
human nature remains essentially the same,
then we only need to carefully study the patterns of the past
to improve our tomorrow to bring benefits
to every Bidayuh and everyone.

No lah history doesn't repeat itself really.
For if it does then study of history inspired by a win-win attitude
will surely lead us all to Pembangunan (Big Awakening, a Renaissance)
i.e. if the same mechanisms are in place already,
-- as at the time when Sir James Brooke met the Land Dayak (future Bidayuh) rebels
-- as at the time when Swiss Bruno Yes Manser met the Penan refugees in log ponds.
In reality, times have changed and yet things stay the same.
This is the new reality, a state of consciousness, a new realization of it.
Is it history repeating itself?
Lagi-lagi tanya gi-la gi.
It is left to us to open our eyes and see it.
It just may be the case.
In essence, the future can be found in the past, and
re-invented today for what faces us tomorrow.
What peace what harmony what bank balance we enjoy now
is all but the congruence of the past future and present.
In Walt disney's word:
"The future is not the result of choices
among alternative paths offered in the present,
it is a place that is created
-- created first in the mind and will;
created next in the activity."
And those are the words
that lead me to agree
when it is said:
We, Bidayuh, should invent the future; don't predict it.

In a sense we've done that already
We've adopted Vision 2020 as a model
A good or bad model?
That depends on the evolution of our norms and values
as we jabber and britong along and
as we add prahok colour and flavour to our tastes
and vision of the future.
Taste it at successful JNP8.
Cheers
B4