Money to save Kelabit language barely enough

Borneo Post http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=18383

Money to save Kelabit language barely enough

March 21, 2010, Sunday

MIRI: The RM70,000 raised from the recent raffles run by the Rurum Kelabit Sarawak (RKS) education unit was barely sufficient for the save Kelabit language project.

OVER TO YOU: Apoi (second left) receives the keys to the grand prize of a Honda Wave 100 motorcycle from Lucy witnessed by Dick (left), Marcus (third left), Mary (fourth right), Grace (third right), and others.

Speaking during the handing over of the grand prize to the winner of the raffles yesterday, RKS education unit head Lucy Bulan said: “Though we have raised some money through the raffles draw, it is still not enough for the education project which involves quite a lot of money. The raffles draw date had to be extended from Dec 12 last year to Feb 20 this year to enable more tickets to be sold.”

Lucy said much money had to be set aside to pay for the services of staff to teach the Kelabit language, and in the maintenance of the premises to be used for the classes tentatively identified to be in the existing office of RKS Miri branch in Saberkas Commercial Centre here.

Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datin Fatimah Abdullah had sounded the alarm when launching the RKS Education Raffles Draw on July 19 last year that the Kelabit language was at a critical stage.

Most of the estimated 6,000 Kelabits of Sarawak are in Miri Division where the main homeland lies in the Bario highlands.

According to language experts, only the older generation among Kelabits still speaks the language, while most of the younger generation no longer speaks their mother tongue, and the problem is compounded by inter-racial marriages.

The disappearance of a language will also mean the loss of a community’s culture, values, identity, and way of life – hence the urgency to revitalise and preserve the Kelabit language before it becomes extinct in the next 10 to 15 years.

“The main aim is to save the Kelabit language through the Tawaq Raut project,” said Lucy, who is a school principal.

She said there were some Kelabit students in her school, but lamented that most of them did not know their mother tongue at all.

“We need to start somewhere, and the project will begin with the younger pupils from pre-school up to the primary school levels, but may consider older students who are interested in saving the Kelabit language,” she added.

Other activities of the project include creating a Kelabit dictionary, story-telling and songs in Kelabit, and collecting related articles.

According to her, the main sponsor of the prizes totalling about RM10,000 is Honda Motors Company which delivered the grand prize through its agent Egahjaya Motors Sdn Bhd in Centre Point Commercial Centre here.

The grand prize winner of a Honda Wave 100 motorcycle is Apoi Ngimat who bought the winning ticket last year while he was in Peninsular Malaysia where he had worked and stayed in Subang Jaya, Selangor.

Apoi had now returned to his hometown of Bario this year to help run his family business in homestay and the cultivation of the famous Bario rice.

Other prizes included a HP laptop computer, microwave ovens, a three-day-two-night stay in Bario, Nokia handphones, electric water heaters, and slow cookers.

RKS Miri branch chairman Dick Bala, RKS Miri branch education unit head Marcus Raja, member-in-charge of prizes for the raffles draw Grace Asim, and committee member of RKS education unit Mary Peter were among those present.

The public may call Grace at 019-8146104 for more information.