KUCHING: More members of the Melanau community in the city have been urged to actively participate in association activities to strengthen unity and advance the community’s socio-economic development.
Deputy Minister for Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment, Datuk Len Talif Salleh, said the membership in the Kuching Melanau Association (PMK) remains low, with fewer than 2,000 registered members despite an estimated 12,000 Melanau residents living here.
“I urge more Melanau people here to be active in association activities, especially by becoming members. These associations are important platforms for us to exchange ideas, share knowledge and work together to advance our community,” he said.
He said this at the Melanau Family Day 2025 celebration at Wisma Melanau here today.
Len said the programme organised by PMK and the Sarawak Melanau Community Charitable Trust Board serves as a meaningful platform for the Melanau community – particularly those living or working in the city – to gather and strengthen ties among the community of various dialects from Rajang, Matu, Daro, Dalat, Sibu, Mukah, Balingian, Tatau and Bintulu.
He stressed the importance of remaining forward-thinking as rapid technological changes may leave the community behind if they fail to keep pace and maintain meaningful interaction with other groups.
He also encouraged Melanau professionals and intellectuals to join PMK and contribute to programmes aimed at developing the younger generation, saying their involvement is crucial to boosting the community’s progress.
“The Melanau community must also be brave and shed their shyness. In the past, many Melanau people living in big cities were embarrassed to speak the Melanau language.
“This inferiority complex occurred because many in our community felt hesitant when we were among other communities that were already advanced and successful,” he added.
But he said at present, Melanau speakers are no longer shy to speak among themselves in public.
“In fact, many other communities want to speak and learn the Melanau language. Recently, Firefox Web funded a project to include Melanau Mukah entries into a global linguistic project.
“About 30 members of the Melanau Mukah language association were involved in the project,” said Len.
He added that the publication of dictionaries, including the Melanau Ajang Dictionary, is a significant step toward preserving vocabulary for future generations.
“With this dictionary, we can preserve certain terms so that they can be understood by future generations. The Melanau Ajang Dictionary is one step further.
“If people search Melanau.org on Google, they can find Melanau terms translated into Malay and listen to the pronunciation.
“It is vocal, it is sound. This is one step we have taken towards developing the Melanau dictionary,” he said.
