The most important Harvest festivals in Borneo, namely Sarawak and Sabah, are being celebrated now.

Officially designated as the Gawai Dayak Day in 1965, initiated by the late member of Council Negri Tra Zehnder (later Dato’ Seri) so the ethnic Dayak people can celebrate their harvests like Hari Raya, Lunar New Year, Deepavali and Baha’i New Year.

Ethnic Dayaks are universally known for their incredible bravery in war and their loyalty in peace.

An Iban Tracker, Awang anak Raweng won the George Cross, a Civilian Victoria Cross, in a most daring operation in Johore.

Like other ethnic groups in the country, they certainly have made significant contributions to the prosperity of Sarawak in particular, and the country generally, and Singapore as well.

In the cities, towns and villages, the Dayak like the other ethnic groups have been running most of the shops, shopping malls, supermarkets and hotels and eateries of all descriptions, and clinics and hospitals. The list continues.

All construction firms are on holiday for at least a week. Ethnic Dayak are indispensable to this sector absolutely.

The legendary Sarawak Rangers from the days of successive foreign occupations,

The Border Scouts and The Iban Trackers had a special place in the history of this country for the pivotal role they played in maintaining law and order during the Brooke regime, the British colonial administration, the Malayan Emergency, the Confrontation, and the unrest in the late sixties.

We should always remember with gratitude the part they played with the police and the armed forces in making the country safe for all of us.

We join them in their major celebration of the year in the true Sarawak tradition.

Steeped in centuries-old culture with its own symbolic routines and ceremonies, celebrating the harvest is the most important day in the calendar of our Iban, Bidayuh, and Orang Ulu and other smaller groups who make up about 45 per cent of our people.

All part of Sarawak’s rich culture shows the unity and strong bonds in our community. Order and routine govern the celebrations, getting ready by cleaning and repairing the longhouses, preparing for the feast, miring (a ritual offering to their ancestors, gods and spirits), makai di ruai (festival meal), and other forms of celebration.

At midnight a gong is struck, the tuai rumah calls on everyone to toast longevity, and the new year, 1 June, begins with festival greetings and forgiveness of wrongs and differences, a marvellous way to start their New Year.

In one of our best traditions, the longhouses and the homes of our Iban, Bidayuh, and Orang Ulu are open to families, friends and well-wishers.

The guests are offered their well-known drink, “tuak”, speeches are made, and guests are served Dayak delicacies.

With the celebration lasting about 30 days, Gawai Dayak has much in common with our other major festival days Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Sabah Harvest Festival.

Our diversity is our strength. From which we must never allow anything to detract. That is the task of all of us, without exception. We must celebrate that.

Today all ethnic groups must be united in our effort in building a truly happy and harmonious country where we can continue to live like sisters and brothers in a extended-long house.

Let’s build a country which we can all be justly proud of.

SELAMAT GAWAI DAYAK.

(Datuk Seri Ang Lai Soon is Sarawak social activist, philanthropist, founder of St John’s Ambulance Sarawak.)