Gobalakrishnan's 'adoption' valid, says politician

Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) founding father, Sidi Munan, has slammed Land Minister Dr James Masing’s demand that MP for Padang Serai, N Gobalakrishnan, produce his "adoption papers" to prove that he was indeed an Iban and a native of Sarawak.

Gobalakrishnan, who is also known as Jugan Anak Jugah in the state, was barred from entering Sarawak on Christmas eve by immigration authorities at Kuching International Airport. He had gone there to celebrate Christmas with his adoptive parents at their longhouse, about 500km from Kuching. Jugah, an Iban headman in Kapit, became Gobalakrishnan’s adoptive father on June 16 last year.

Munan, who studied law in New Zealand and blogs under the name ‘Apai PRS’ (father of PRS), contended that notwithstanding Adat Iban 1993, "any form of an adoption ritual performed according to the custom of a particular Iban longhouse community is in order".

"For this, no papers are necessary," said Sidi, who once headed the Majlis Adat Istiadat Sarawak which codified the Tusun Tunggu (native laws) of the Dayaks in Sarawak. "The adopted individual is deemed to be a member of the family for all intents and purposes."

"Section 198 of the Adat Iban 1993 recognises the existence of other Iban adat which are not covered by the 1993 Ordinance."

Munan added that "the anthropologist (Masing) gives the impression in a Borneo Post interview on Dec 30 that there is only one type of adoption recognised by Iban custom. It is not so".

"Adoption is a common occurrence among the Iban in Sarawak and Kalimantan. A simple ceremony is required when an Iban family wants to adopt someone of any age and from any ethnic or racial origin," said Munan.

"It would be a proper adoption in the eyes of the Iban community if the adoptive parents announce it at a gathering of the community, recognising that so and so has been adopted by the family and is given a new name."

There’s no love lost between Munan and Masing (left) since the former aligned himself with a renegade PRS faction led by assistant minister Larry Sng, the son of former party deputy president Sng Chee Hwa and son-in-law of Sarawak tycoon Ting Pek Khiing. Larry Sng still considers himself PRS president and Munan secretary-general.

Munan made way for Masing to be PRS president when Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) was deregistered after the latter challenged Daniel Tajem’s election as party president and lodged a formal complaint with the Registrar of Societies.

Subsequently, PRS Deputy President Sng Chee Hwa sacked Masing after a falling out and made way for his son, the younger Sng, to be party president in what has been described as a coup by the Sng and Ting families to take over the Dayak-based party.

Masing, whose party is worried over the increasing number of Dayaks reportedly flocking to PKR, has tried to cast doubts on Gobalakrishnan’s adoption, calling it a "mockery of Iban customs".

"It’s rather unusual for a grown man to be legally adopted by an Iban family. I would love to see his adoption papers," Masing had said. "I hope this MP isn’t trying to pull a fast one on my community."

Masing held that "the supposed traditional adoption ceremony that Gobalakrishnan had undergone could have been a welcoming gesture held by the headman’s family for a visitor to their longhouse".

"Gobalakrishnan may have mistaken the fatherly act of his host addressing him as anak (son), a common way of younger strangers," claimed Masing."A real adoption process is more than just word of mouth during the ceremony.

"For any adoption to be legally recognised, it must be registered at any of the state’s district offices."

Gobalakrishnan was not allowed to enter Sarawak on Christmas eve last year reportedly on a directive from the State Secretary who exercises the delegated powers of the Home Minister in certain immigration matters.

The State Secretary has since denied issuing such a directive, while Assistant Minister Daud Abdul Rahman told the media in Kuching that "the Immigration Department must have had good reasons to ban Gobalakrishnan from Sarawak".

Immigration Department insiders, meanwhile, confided that the department is against banning any Malaysian from Sarawak and would not, in any case, act on any directive on the matter, even from the chief minister – who exercises the delegated powers of the prime minister in certain immigration matters – unless provided with documentary evidence and proof.