Grandfather's Story

In the 70s during the height communist insurgence in Sarawak, my grandfather (mother's side) was attached to RASCOM, the Rajang Area Security Command, the agency trusted in fighting the communists both militarily and politically. This was the period when Army's General Field Force were highly revered for their efforts in killing communists. It was also through this period that Iban soldiers made up a significant fraction of recipients of the two most prestigious Malaysian military awards us as the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP) and the Panglima Gagah Berani (PGB) .

An effort was undertaken by the Malaysian government to move rural Ibans to new settlements closer to towns. This strategy drew similarities with the Kampung Barus in West Malaysia which were fenced-up villages to isolate communists from infiltrating the Chinese communities. Devoid of weapons, food and even corporal pleasure (women), these communists were hoped to leave the jungles and surrender. My grandfather's duty was to travel to these very remote longhouses, persuade the villages to leave and coordinate the relocation effort itself.

According to him, the persuasion part was the toughest. Areas that he covered were mainly of those in Ulu Tatau (way upriver from Tatau). So remote was the place that the only accessible way of getting there besides by flying was a 3-hour boat ride (or maybe a walk..not sure). He would spend roughly a month persuading the longhouses to resettle, explaining the government benefits they would get in the new place. He told me a story of one particular longhouse which refused to leave. The villagers were at the ruai of the headman and the meeting with my grandfather and his colleagues were very in much Q&A style. The villagers defended their decision to stay with reasons that my grandfather could hardly contest except on education.

One villager said that his people had survived for generations without education so why must they move to a more urban place just because there were schools built there. My grandfather responded them boldly, "If your great-grandchildren would one day suffer due to their lack of education, they will definitely put a curse on you, their ancestors, because you rejected the idea of giving them the education that is so crucial in today's world."

That fear of being cursed by your descendants moved the decision of the villagers. Soon after that, they were packing their belongings and even sacks of paddy harvest, onto military helicopters. My grandfather were the among the last ones to leave. An empty longhouse is a spooky sight to a native Sarawakian's imagination. Despite being a Christian himself, he improvised an adat by ordering each family to sacrifice a chicken as a sign of peace between them and the spirit of the land that they were about to abandon. In this respect, I believe local traditions sometimes must not be neglected despite how staunch believers we are of a Western religion.

Once the last family left, the longhouse was torched and burned to the ground. These Ibans are the ones living in Skuau today, an area just outside Sibu. The Ibans have been nomadic ever since their exodus from Sumatera around 400 years ago to settle in Kalimantan. Their origin from Sumatera perhaps explain the similarity between the Malay and the Iban languages. They moved into Sarawak in the 19th century and proceeded up the state by the means of tribal fightings over land especially with the Kayans. Both tribes claimed the supremacy of the Rajang river. This time they had to resettle in a new land, very much like their ancestors in the past, but were blessed to do so without having to cut the enemies' heads for which the Ibans and other Dayak tribes are famous for.