Today is the Dayak's Gawai Day actually, the 1st of June. It's actually a harvest festival, for those who are still in the dark about what Gawai really is.However, this year I couldn't make it home due to work commitment but I'd love to write something on behalf of today.
I am a little bit unfortunate to have never experienced gawai as it is supposed to be where all those rituals and many other things involved, in my entire life. I heard my cousins and friends back at their hometowns celebrated it so damn fun, and this has never failed to make me feel jealous!
But of course, it pretty sums up the point of my writing today, which is towards the contributions that my fellow young Dayaks and I could do to rectify this on-going problem of brain drain which does not only affect the development of state but the celebration of Gawai itself.
When I went to my longhouse during Gawai, there were not many people and many of the families that used to be there when I was younger have moved or did not return home.
For the past a decade, I couldn't really feel the festival is being celebrated as I would've loved to see as the families that used to stay in the long house have dwindled in numbers and this got me thinking, is because of migration and lack of economic opportunities there?
How misleading indeed when Sarawak itself is rich with natural resources and many undeveloped lands still waiting to be explored and filled with roads, buildings, neighborhoods, shopping malls, parks etc.
If truth be told, I cannot speak too much on this matter because pointing this out would make me a clear-cut hypocrite considering I am still here working in Kuala Lumpur while writing this article pointing out that my hometown is rich with opportunities?
To make things clear, I never intended to stay here for too long in Kuala Lumpur and in a couple of years time, I do want to return home, in helping out the development there. I seriously hope to see more aggressive growths taking place but in order to accomplish that, the state itself need its best human capital out there, wherever you are.
But, what can we, particular the young ones, do to contribute when we're far from home? I discussed this matter with one of my friends the other day during lunch, coming up with various initiatives to gather up the sarawakian youths here in Peninsular and coming up with an action plan entitled, let's go home.
This is not in any way, asking you to leave your jobs and schools at this moment, today. But let's plan out, carve out the directions in a few years time which give you an ample of time to identify another job or business opportunities back home in Sarawak.
The Kuala Lumpur city is packed with people and growths are positive, so let's put it into a balance and spread the growth elsewhere too. If we are too achieve the things we have dreamed of in our vision 2020, the balance must exist and it cannot be ignored.
So, the let's go home plan is essentially an idea to highlight and share the various opportunities that exist back home and I want to be part of this as well. This rings true even for other young Malaysians abroad, please come home and return to your respective states and contribute in the growth of your homes. They seriously in dire need of you and without you, they cannot grow.
let's go home plan is an idea, of asking all Malaysians to return to their homes and contribute. Let's give it a 5 - 10 years time frame. Even more so, we have 9 more years to go before 2020, right?
Clive
P.S. Happy Gawai. Gayu guru gerai nyamai.
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