Three Bidayuh ketua kaum (village headmen) from Bau district have condemned and demanded that the BN's Tasik Biru state assemblyperson Peter Nansian retract his remarks that certain village chiefs are gila gila (mad).

At a press conference in Kuching this morning, Sylvester Bungas of Kampung Daun, Tayron anak Galan of Kampung Bobak and Rijod Ragin of Kampung Segong said they were offended by Nansian’s wild allegation.

They described his gila gila allegation as an insult to all village headmen in their area and the villagers who elected them.

sarawak ketua kampung village head termination pkr pc 120908 05 “He must apologise to us publicly for the unfounded statement made,” they demanded.

The three village headmen who represent more than 400 families and a population of more than 3000, held the press conference at the Stampin PKR service centre in Kuching in the presence of State PKR deputy chairperson Nicholas Bawin, legal advisor See Chee How and the party's state committee members Granda Aing and Puan Ibi Uding.

The headmen announced they would take legal action for their reinstatement as ketua kaum, and described the state government's action to terminate their service as harsh, unjust and unreasonable.

Capable and dedicated

Granda Aing told reporters he took offence as a fellow Bidayuh because all the Bidayuh village chiefs are elected by the villagers.

He questioned the statement by State Secretary Wilson Baya Dangot that he was unaware the village chiefs had been dismissed effective July 31.

According to Aing, the termination of the ketua kaum, all of them from Bau district, came from an official memorandum issued from the State Secretary's office dated July 5.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Bawin who had served in the Majlis Adat Istiadat Sarawak (Council for Natives' Customary Affairs), a department under the Chief Minister's Office for 13 years, said the state government should respect the rights of the community leaders who are traditionally elected by the villagers for their capability to lead and dedication to serve their own people.

“To say that certain village chiefs are gila gila is certainly insulting and unacceptable,” said Bawin, adding that PKR will certainly act to protect and uphold the dignity of these ketua kaum.