Winds of change sweep through the Iban community longhouse

SELANGAU: Andrewson Ngalai Ason, 61, has always dreamed of upgrading the longhouse he has lived in for the past 30 years to be based on a more modern concept for safety reasons.

Realising that he would need the agreement of all 200 families staying in the 28 units to do that, he quickly got cracking and held a discussion.

In the 2009 discussion, Andrewson, who was then the Andrewson Ngalai Longhouse chief before being appointed village chief (penghulu) in 2016, tried to convince the residents on the need for changes to be done to their longhouse, which is located in the Sekuau area of the Tamin state constituency.

"One problem we faced was that our longhouse was old and unsafe because the wooden structure had begun to rot.

"So, I was concerned about our safety and also the risk of a fire because ours is a wooden structure," he told Bernama, adding that that was the reason he insisted on wanting their longhouse to be upgraded.

Thankfully, everyone was onboard and the Andrewson Ngalai Longhouse finally underwent a transformation.

In 2010, they dipped into their own funds to build the new-look longhouse using concrete stones. In 2013, the longhouse, built based on a more modern concept, was finally completed.

Apart from their own funds, they also received assistance in the form of building materials, like attap and cement, that were channelled through the Sarawak Poor Home Improvement Programme (PPRMS).

The PPRMS is a Sarawak government initiative to assist the people own comfortable and safe homes by providing an allocation of RM1 million a year to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state elected representatives for the purpose of carrying out improvements to houses or longhouses in their respective areas.

"Today, after six years of living in this new longhouse, I do not feel anxious anymore about our safety because the building's structure is solid. Now, we even intend to make this longhouse a homestay so as to attract tourists," said Andrewson.

Meanwhile, many netizens, after looking at pictures of the longhouse on the social media platform like Facebook and several blogs, could not help but be amazed by the transformation the longhouse has undergone, with some saying it looked like a modern terrace home in the city.

One of them, Nelson Ganya, said that the new Andrewson Ngalai Longhouse was proof that the winds of change has revolutionised the Iban community.

Meanwhile, Christopher Gira Sambang, the GPS candidate hoping to retain the Tamin state seat in the 12th Sarawak election on Dec 18, said work to upgrade over 400 longhouses in his constituency that were built more than 30 years ago had been carried out in stages through the PPRMS initiative.

Among them were the Saba Danggang Longhouse (22 units) and Clement Jakoi Longhouse (36 units) in Sekuau; Sebeli Kerangan Pelaga Longhouse (18 units) and Jinggang Longhouse (24 units) in Ulu Mukah; Sigan Lei Longhouse (18 units) and Rumah Panjang Bala (40 units) in Sepiring, Balingian; Bajing Longhouse (25 units) in Sungai Anus; as well as Lawang Longhouse in Sungai Melinau.

"In the future, efforts to upgrade these longhouses will be intensified with the target of benefiting 1,000 households.

"This commitment has been proven because, in the GPS manifesto for this election, it is stated that more assistance for the construction and improvement of longhouses will be provided," he said when contacted.

The Dec 18 election will see a straight fight between Gira and Joseph Entulu Belaun of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) for the Tamin seat.

In the 11th state election in 2016, Gira won with a majority of 2,085 votes in a three-cornered fight against Simon Joseph of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Independent candidate Ali Puji.

-- BERNAMA