Seventeen months after it was formed, the Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sarawak (DCCI) is still unable to get an appointment to meet officially with Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

One of its main tasks soon after its first annual general meeting was to seek an appointment to see the then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the chief minister.

DCCI principal office-bearers, led by their president Leonard Linggi, a successful Iban businessman and former state Barisan Nasional secretary-general, met Mahathir in Putrajaya just before he stepped down as prime minister in October last year.

But the chamber has been told that they will have to wait to see the chief minister as he has not fixed any appointment date.

This probably prompted Linggi to state at the opening of the DCCI's second annual general meeting in Kuching yesterday that the chamber's leadership is not that of one man but team work.

"If there are feelings against one man, the chamber should not be penalised," he added. He did not elaborate on this, but to the 187 members and the media present it was clear that Linggi was alluding to reports about his distant relationship with Abdul Taib.

BN men in chamber

Linggi is the prime mover of DCCI which he set up together with many other Dayak entrepreneurs with the aim of advancing the Dayak community's economic interests through participation in business and industry.

Taib and several Dayak ministers appear to be keeping their distance from the chamber, although many of its supreme council members are made up of politicians and businessmen from the state's four BN parties - Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United People's Party (Supp), Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS).

PBB senior vice-president and former state minister Celestine Ujang is among the panel of advisors.

Included in its supreme council are several BN elected representatives, including Stanley Ajang (deputy president), Dr Steven Rundi, Dr Jerip Susil and Peter Nansian as well as Bidayuh businessman Peter Minos (secretary-general).

A chamber official told malaysiakini that the DCCI supreme council had passed a resolution to seek an appointment to meet Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Abdul Taib.

Meanwhile, in a 'pep' talk to DCCI members attending the second annual general meeting, Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia vice-president Muhammad Muhiyuddin Abdullah spelt out some of the ingredients to be successful entrepreneurs.

Experience is key

Speaking from experience, Muhammad, who is also Perak Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, said there was no alternative to learning through experience in business.

"They must have the ability to get things going, they must persevere and must work hard. "Giving up" is not in their dictionary. There is no such thing as shortcut to success."

"No one has really been successful in a short time," he said, citing the cases of the Genting boss Lim Goh Thong, Astro founder Ananda Krishnan and renowned sugar king Robert Kuok.

"You must have self-discipline. Time management is important. When you make promises, you must keep them. You must have business integrity. You must pay back loans."

Muhammad who is also Umno Lengong division deputy head said Malay and Dayak businessmen all faced similar problems. "We are all basically the same, with the same cultures."

They should network, make contacts and go after opportunities instead of waiting for opportunities to come.

Muhammad added that by affiliating itself with the Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Malaysia, the Dayak chamber would certainly be in the pipeline for opportunities that would benefit its members.

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini's Sarawak-based stringer.