Eleventh Biennial BRC Conference.

Sather, Clifford

Borneo Research Council's 11th Biennial International Conference, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, 25-27 June 2012

The Eleventh Biennial Conference of the Borneo Research Council was held on the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) campus and was organized by the UBD Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Generous support was provided by the Conference's Brunei sponsors, the Yayasan Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

The conference extended over three days and was attended by approximately 170 participants and paper presenters representing a wide range of disciplines and coming not only from within the region--Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines--but from around the world--the US, UK, Japan, Australia, France, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Germany and elsewhere. This was the second time that the Universiti Brunei Darussalam has hosted a BRC Biennial Conference. The first occasion was the Fourth Biennial Conference held 16 years ago in 1996. The conference theme for the 2012 BRC meetings was "Identities, Cultures and Environments."

The conference was opened by the Dean of the UBD Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Chair of the Organizing Committee, Dr. Yabit Alas, who presented the welcoming address to the conference participants. In addition, a welcoming message was read from the President of the BRC, Dr. George N. Appell. During the openingday ceremonies, the BRC medal of excellence was awarded to Jayl Langub, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of East Asian Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), for his work on behalf of minority rights and forest conservation and his many contributions to Borneo studies. The medal was officially presented to Jayl by the most recent previous recipient of the award, Professor Bob Reece of Murdoch University, Western Australia [see, in this issue of the BRB, "Jayl Langub Receives the BRC Medal of Excellence"]. Following the opening ceremony, the Conference's principal keynote address was delivered by Professor Nancy Peluso, anthropologist and Professor of Forest Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. The title of Professor Peluso's address was "Global distinctions? Situating Borneo Natures and Subjects."

On day two of the conference, a second keynote address was presented by Professor Wan Zawawi Ibrahim of the UBD Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, "Indigenes and Contesting Nation-State Bumiputera Identity in East Malaysia." On day three, the final keynote address was given by Associate Professor Ulmar Grafe of the UBD Faculty of Science, "Prospects for Biodiversity Conservation in the Heart of Borneo."

The conference itself consisted of seven panel sessions spread over the three days, plus from 5 to 7 concurrent individual paper sessions. Panel topics were "The Cultured Rainforest," "Political Ecology of the Sungai Kapuas," "Environment, Culture and Public Health in Sabah," "Human-Nature Interactions, Riverine Societies in Sarawak," "Mythology and Historiography in Borneo," "Salt and Society in Highland Borneo," and "The Old Kuching Courthouse." Individual paper sessions covered a wide array of topics, including among others linguistics, language and identity, language endangerment, education, ethnicity and social change in Kalimantan, cultural heritage preservation, ecology and biodiversity, urbanism, history, tourism, property and land issues. At the end of the conference, a special open panel chaired by Professor Bob Reece discussed "Future Directions" and was followed by the closing ceremony held in the Universiti Brunei Darussalam Senate Room.

Our special thanks goes to the organizing committee and staff at UBD for their dedication in making the conference a success.

JAYL LANGUB AWARDED THE BRC MEDAL OF EXCELLENCE

BRC Medal awarded at the Eleventh BRC Biennial Conference, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam, 25 June 2012

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Borneo Research Council's Medal of Excellence was presented to Jayl Langub by Professor Robert H.W. Reece on June 25lh, 2012, during the opening-day ceremonies at the Eleventh Biennial BRC Conference held on the campus of the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Jayl is the ninth recipient of the award. The award was first established in 1990 and its previous recipients are: Tan Sri Datuk Amar Leonard Linggi Jugah, J. Derek Freeman, William Geddes, H.S. Morris, P.M. Dato Shariffudin, A.J.N. Richards, Bernard Sellato, and Robert H.W. Reece.

Citation for the BRC Medal

It is with great pleasure that the Board of Directors of the Borneo Research Council awards the BRC Medal of Excellence to Jayl Langub in acknowledgement of his many contributions to our anthropological understanding of Borneo, his life-long dedication to human and indigenous rights, his work in codifying customary law, his humanitarian concerns as a scholar and active citizen, and his unstinting commitment to forest conservation and the sustainable management of Borneo's natural resources.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Jayl was bom into the Lun Bawang community at Long Semado in the present-day Limbang Division of Sarawak. Both his father, who was a Penghulu, and his grandfather before him, were local community leaders. In the Lun Bawang cultural tradition, leaders are expected to set an example for others by their hard work, selflessness, and commitment to the common good. Jayl himself is an inspiring example of just these virtues.

Jayl received his early education at the Long Semado Primary School, the first government primary school in the Ulu Trusan, and later, during the early years of Malaysian independence, at Tanjong Lobang College in Miri. Following graduation, he

was recruited into the Sarawak Administrative Service. For over 10 years he served as a Sarawak Administrative Officer at the small outstations of Kanowit, Belaga and Spaoh, and, more briefly, as a Division Development Officer in Limbang. In 2007 he recalled his experiences as a young administrative officer, and with James Chin, co-edited an important book, Reminiscences, which traces the history of the Sarawak Administrative Service through the transitional first decades of Malaysian independence by means of a series of memoirs, his own among them.

It was during his years as an administrative officer that Jayl developed his initial interest in ethnography, customary law, and indigenous systems of adjudication and leadership. These interests remain at the forefront of his anthropological writings, a major portion of which focus on the Penan and on smaller, formerly little-known Orang Ulu groups of the Belaga, Limbang, and Baram districts. In addition to numerous essays published in the Sarawak Museum Journal, Sarawak Gazette, Borneo Research Bulletin, and elsewhere, Jayl compiled a first-of-its-kind monograph of Penan folktales in the vernacular, and contributed authoritative entries on the Penan, Kajang and other Orang Ulu groups, and on adat law and longhouse life in the recently published Encyclopedia of Malaysia.

In 1978 Jayl applied for a study leave, and taking out a loan from the state government, traveled to Canada where he earned a Bachelors Degree in anthropology from McGill University and a Masters Degree in community development from the University of Alberta. Upon his return to Sarawak in 1983, he was appointed to the Sarawak State Planning Unit, the chief social policy and research arm of the state government. Here he served until 1991. During this time, and to this day, Jayl has assisted countless researchers, generously giving his time, sharing his knowledge, and offering advice and encouragement. A great many scholars, both local and international, owe the success of their research to Jayl's efforts on their behalf. Aptly described by one of his University Malaysia Sarawak colleagues as "unconditionally generous of spirit," Jayl has never sought credit for himself and his assistance often took place behind the scenes and frequently went unacknowledged. Here, by this award, we wish to acknowledge, on behalf of the many friends and colleagues he assisted, Jayl's tireless work in furthering scholarly research in Sarawak.

The Council also commends Jayl for his courage and long-term commitment to the causes of conservation and human and indigenous rights. For over a decade, from 1991 through 2003, Jayl served as Secretary of the Majlis Adat Istiadat. Here he and his colleagues, in consultation with community elders, compiled and codified volumes of customary law for each of the major indigenous ethnic groups in Sarawak [including the Lun Bawang] to serve the needs of local community leaders in Native Court adjudication. His concern for legal justice embraces indigenous land rights as well. This is well-exemplified by his current work on behalf of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission inquiry into Native Customary Land Rights in Sarawak and his advocacy of adequate land allocations for those displaced by the Bakun Dam. This follows his participation in an earlier Human Rights Commission inquiry into Penan land claims and his work in formulating conflict resolution guidelines for Sarawak. Jayl's concern for the Penan reflects a deep humanitarian commitment to Malaysia's least advantaged citizens. On a personal level, Jayl has given unselfishly of his time and counsel to the Penan and others who have sought his assistance. He has also actively advocated on behalf of environmental concerns and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia. In the past he held a similar position in the Malaysian Timber Certification Council and as an alternate member of the National Steering Committee representing social stakeholders, he helped establish the criteria for the sustainable management of Malaysia's forest resources that were adopted by the Council in 2005. He has also worked with a WWF-Malaysia team in formulating policies for the conservation and sustainable use of the highlands of Sabah and Sarawak and is an advisor to the joint Indonesian-Malaysian forum, Forum Masyarakat Adat Dataran Tinggi Borneo, an indigenous-community group advocating sustainable local management of the interior highlands of Borneo. Jayl's work on behalf of the Penan, and on conservation and indigenous rights issues has brought him into frequent conflict with powerful state and commercial interests, and, in pursuing these concerns, and speaking up for others, he has shown unwavering courage in the face of often trying political circumstances.

Today, as a Senior Research Fellow in the University of Malaysia Sarawak's Institute of East Asian Studies, Jayl Langub's scholarly work goes on and promises to further enlarge our knowledge of Borneo, particularly by pursuing cross-border research, both within Malaysian Borneo and across its borders with Kalimantan, research that characteristically combines humanitarian concerns with rigorous scholarship.