By Maclean Patrick
COMMENT On a trip deep into Penan territory, my brother and his party were harangued and berated one day by the longhouse chief of the nomadic community. What happened next holds a moral for us all, we of urban life who view their society as primitive.
It happened on one of my brother's many trips into the interior, as an environmental impact assessment consultant for the Natural Resouce and Environment Board. He gets a chance to work among the many different groups in Sarawak; as an avid photographer, bird-watcher and all-round adventurer, he seized upon the opportunity to see and experience at first hand life in this normadic tribe.
The team journeyed to Murum in Central Sarawak to set up base camp at a Penan longhouse where they were duly welcomed by the community there.
The team leader stood up and made the customary speech, thanking the community for their hospitality. It was a short speech and was accorded the usual applause and friendly gestures.
Next rose the longhouse chief. And his first words were “Saya tidak berterima kasih...” (“I do not thank you”), followed up by the chief berating the team for not bringing with them rice, sugar and salt for the villagers.
At this point, he was interrupted by a fellow villager sitting at his side. After a short exchange of words, the chief proceeded to scold the hapless man in Penan dialect.
Curious at this turn of events, my brother asked a fellow team-member to tell him what was going on in front of them.
His team-mate, who speaks Penan, chuckled and told my brother it was a case of miscommunication. Someone had told the chief that my brother’s team was from the Welfare Department and he was incensed when he saw the "Welfare" coming empty-handed.
Now he had just been informed that my brother’s team was, instead, a survey team for a project meant to raise their economic status. This foul-up had obviously embarassed the chief somewhat. He was now scolding the poor villager for the embarassment he had suffered in scolding my brother’s team.
The scolding went on for a short while longer. Upon stopping the chief turned humbly to the survey and apologised, and went on to direct his fellow villagers to bring out their best handicraft to sell to the survey team, and also to prepare their best meat for the team.
My brother noted to me that it was ingrained in Penan culture to say what you mean and mean what you say. The Penan do not mince their words, and an argument can go on until all has been said and discussed. Then the matter is closed and they get on with life.
There are no vendettas in Penan society. They are the most docile of all the peoples of Sarawak, choosing to keep to their own business, not picking a fight with the other tribes; to my knowledge no Penan has ever gone to war, with the Ibans or other natives. They hold no grudges in their culture; disagreements are thrashed out in long-drawn-out discussions to the very end (even if it takes all day).
And when done, it’s done. Done and done with.
Living in the midst of the jungle, the Penans cannot spare any energy on petty arguments. All effort is placed on the tribe's survival and on gathering the neccessities of daily living. Two Penans may have had an argument in the morning, but later in the day they may be out in the jungle hunting together, with no trace of any ill-will between them.
The Penan can teach us a thing or more. Tell it as it is, mean what you say, and get on with life.
What a contrast to the antics of our politicians in Parliament and and the petty banter that suffices as debate. Our politicians have become the grandmasters of name calling and label-mongering: the name calling, the under-the-belt jabs, the personal attacks then spill over into the public arena to the point it becomes embarassing.
I put full blame on the leaders of the government and oppostion groups for nominating these dim-wits.
Of late, accusations have been flung around the House in a contest of who can throw the bigger threat. But show us the evidence instead, and let the evidence speak for itself. The public are capable of judging and deciding for themselves.
Yes, it is a given in a democracy that one can speak one's case before a gathering of one's peers and leaders. But speak and say it as it is and then get on with the business of leading this country. It is there that many of our leaders fall short.
Government or opposition, we still need each other in order to survive in the modern day jungle. We still need each other to navigate the current economic uncertainties and an ever changing global society. We need leaders who can pull the people together in spite of their differences. We need leaders who can put aside personal vendettas and get down to the business of governance.
There is a lot we can learn from our Penan brothers, who have in simplicity mastered the art of living. They are not only Bumiputeras but also Pribumi. No one has a clear idea of when the Penan first settled on the island of Borneo. They just seem to have always been here. Yet to the latter-day modern society that deems their society to be primitive, their social ethics are simply divine.
[Photo: Jaynsen Patrick Sibat]
Maclean Patrick is a webmaster and author in Kuching. He is a contributor to Free Malaysia Today.
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