Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu reached out to Dayak lecturers in Universiti Sarawak Malaysia (Unimas) yesterday afternoon in what is seen as a move to begin a dialogue with them in order to foster a closer working relationship.

In the meeting lasting more than two hours, Jabu talked at length on the state government's development programmes, especially on rural growth centres (RGCs), plantation activities and the development of Unimas itself.

"He gave good and fatherly advice," was how Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA) president Professor Dimbab Ngindang described the meeting today.

Jabu's effort appreciated

He said the lecturers appreciated the fact that Jabu took the trouble to be in Unimas and met with them.

Dimbab, who is Iban like Jabu and attached to Unimas Faculty of Social Sciences, said as a result of the meeting they had become better informed of what the government was doing.

The deputy chief minister, according to Dimbab, was looking to working more closely with the educated Dayaks, especially the lecturers.

The 1000-strong SDGA had had an uneasy relationship with the state government since its inception more than two years ago, following some seminars they organised highlighting rural poverty. This has been seen in some quarters as sometimes embarrassing to the state government.

Chat over coffee

Jabu, regarded as the Dayak leader in the state government, is understood to have raised this issue in the state cabinet meeting last week.

Yesterday's meeting with Dimbab and its members may have broken the ice, leading to hopes of a more cordial relationship.

"Yes, he talked a little about SDGA," Dimbab said, adding that the minister gave some good advice.

Asked to describe the atmosphere at yesterday's meeting, Dimbab said: "We all sat in with him, and at the end of it all we had coffee. We started at 3.30 pm and finished only at 6.00 pm."

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini 's Sarawak-based stringer.