KUCHING, Oct 26, 2014: Dayak National Congress (DNC) president Mengga Mikui has expressed his concern over threats of bodily harm to Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA) president Dr Dusit Jaul for raising up issues concerning the rights and interests of the Dayak community.
"Although a police report has been lodged by Dusit on Oct 16, we are still concerned of his safety since we do not know the outcome of the police investigation at this moment," Mengga said in a statement today.
"It is a cause for concern since the five persons who claimed to be Special Branch officers from Bukit Aman had come to his house and issued warnings to him through his wife to stop raising up issues affecting the Dayak community," he said.
"In spite of such warnings being issued, we are fully behind Dusit and we hope that he will continue to raise up issues affecting the rights and interests of the Dayak community," he said, adding that the five also followed Dusit to Lubok Antu and then pasted a warning message to him on his car.
Mengga said that issues, like lack of places for the Dayaks holding decision-making positions in government departments, scholarship opportunities accorded to Dayak students pursuing tertiary education abroad and opportunities in business, which Dusit have repeatedly raised are valid and factual.
"These are also the issues brought up by the delegates attending the DNC annual general meeting yesterday (Oct 25)," he said.
Mengga expressed the hope that the police will make public the status of their investigation into Dusit's report.
Dusit, who is also a leader of the Dayak Informal Group, lodged the report on Oct 16, alleging that he was being followed and threatened by "Special Branch officers" from Bukit Aman because of his vocal stance.
He claimed that these people were sent to silence him from speaking on Dayak rights and interests.
“No amount of threat or intimidation can silence us,” said Jaul, adding that he was not at home when the five went to his house on Oct 7 and "delivered messages" to his wife, Selimah Gamon.
He said they informed wife to tell him to stop going against the government and to follow the examples of three "good" Dayak leaders whom they named as Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, Minister for Infrastructure Development and Communication Datuk Seri Michael Manyin and Assistant Industrial Development Minister Datuk Peter Nansian.
“They also told my wife to tell me to cease voicing issues of Dayak interests,” Jaul had said.
He said the men had told his wife that "they will do something" to Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing, who has been critical of Putrajaya on several issues, including attempts to ban the Malay Bible and to covert rural Dayaks to Islam surreptitiously.
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