INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF A MALAYSIAN RURAL INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY
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Published:
Dec 31, 2020
Keywords:
local knowledge, community development, indigenous ethnic group, hill rice, modernisation
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Abstract
Rural economic development strategy needs to be accomplished with distribution strategy which is aimed at development benefits targeted at low-income groups by giving major focus on the role of local knowledge in the community development strategy. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to examine the role of local knowledge in the socio-economic development of the rural Iban community in Sarawak. This study employed the qualitative approach through in-depth interviews and focus group discussion data collection techniques. A total of 20 rural Iban were interviewed in this study. A non-probability sampling technique through purposive sampling and snow-ball sampling was used. All data were analysed using the Nvivo software. Results reveal that local knowledge is the knowledge used as a response towards the inaccessibility to the use of technology, limited communication, and weak infrastructure facilities in their social environment. The role of local knowledge in this study refers to the added value and economic impact on their daily lives. Their local knowledge is integrative in nature, comprising aspects of language, social system, traditional practices, social interaction, rituals, and spirituality. The conclusion of the study is that the scientific knowledge that is obtained from the process of modernisation needs to be blended with the local knowledge and empowered to ensure that the survival of the rural Iban community in the agricultural sector as the main contributing sector towards their socio-economic development continues to remain relevant.
Keywords: local knowledge, community development, indigenous ethnic group, hill rice, modernisation
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References
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Abdul Rahman, E. (2005). Development and well-being. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Agrawal, A. (1995). Indigenous and scientific knowledge: some critical comments. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, 3(3), 1-12
Antweiler, C. (1998). Local knowledge and local knowing: an anthropological analysis of contested cultural products in the context of development. Anthropos, 93, 469-494.
Anuwar, A., Ishak, Y., & Nor Aini, I. (2006). Proses industrialisasi dan pembangunan ekonomi Malaysia. In Ishak Yussof, Nor Aini Idris, & Basri Abdul Talib (Eds.), Ekonomi Malaysia ke arah pascaindustri (pp. 35-53). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Barrett, Robert J. (1993). Performance, Effectiveness and the Iban Manang’, in the Seen andthe Unseen: Shamanism, Mediumship and Possession in Borneo, Robert L. Winzeler, ed. Borneo Research Council Monograph 2.
Briggs, J., & Sharp, J. (2004). Indigenous knowledges and development: A postcolonial caution. Third World Quaterly, 24(44), 661-676.
Campbell, Y. M., Ghazali, K., & Suffian Sahuri, S. S. (2016). Preserving indigenous knowledge through folk narratives: Podi and Ngoyu. JATI-Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 21(12), 203-219.
Chambers, R. (1992). Rural appraisal: Rapid, relaxed and participatory. ID Discussion Paper, 311, 1-60.
Chambers, R. (1994). The origins and practice of participatory rural appraisal. World Development, 22(7), 953-969.
Chamhuri, S. (2000). Poverty focused development programs: Reaping the benefits of globalisation? Borneo Review, 11(1).
Chamhuri, S., & Nor Aini, I. (1996). Pertumbuhan dan kemiskinan: satu sorotan. In S. Chamhuri, & I. Nor Aini (Eds.), Kemiskinan dalam arus pembangunan ekonomi Malaysia (pp. 21-39). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Chamhuri, S., & Norshamliza, S. (2006). Dasar, strategi dan program pembasmian kemiskinan: Penilaian keberkesanan, isu dan masalah. In Ishak Yussof, Nor Aini Idris, & Basri Abdul Talib (Eds.), Ekonomi Malaysia ke arah pascaindustri (pp. 152-175). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Chamhuri, S., & Rospidah, G. (2006). Pembangunan mapan dan proses perindustrian. In Ishak Yussof, Nor Aini Idris, & Basri Abdul Talib (Eds.), Ekonomi Malaysia ke arah pascaindustri (pp. 92-114). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Ellen, R., & Harris, H. (2000). Introduction. In R. Ellen, P. Parkes, & A. Bicker (Eds.), Indigenous environmental knowledge and its transformations (pp. 1-33). Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers.
Freeman, J. D. (1955). Iban agriculture: A report on the shifting cultivation of hill rice by the Iban of Sarawak. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: outline of the theory of structuration. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Grenier, L. (1998). Working with indigenous knowledge: a guide for researchers. Ottawa: IDRC.
Hew Sim, C. (2003). Women workers, migration and family in Sarawak. London, New York: Routledge Curzon.
Katiman, R., & Abd. Hamid, A. (1996). Keperluan asas, pembangunan rakyat termiskin dan pusat perkhidmatan desa: Pengajaran dari Hulu Terengganu. In S. Chamhuri, & I. Nor Aini (Eds.), Kemiskinan dalam arus pembangunan ekonomi Malaysia (pp. 238-259). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Kementerian Luar Bandar Malaysia. (2019). Dasar pembangunan luar bandar Malaysia [Malaysian rural development policy). Retrieved from https://www.rurallink.gov.my/
King, V. T., & Nazaruddin, M. J. (1992). Isu-isu pembangunan luar bandar di Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Latouche, S. (1993). In the wake of the affluent society: An exploration of post development. London: Zed.
Lukes, S. (1972). Emile Durkheim: His life and work. New York: Harper dan Row.
Lyndon, N, Selvadurai, S., Rose, R. A. C., Hong, H. S. (2015). Cattle marketing social network among the rural native community, Sarawak, Malaysia: A qualitative research. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(5), 269-277.
Madeline, B. (2004). Towards the National Vision Policy: Review of the economic policy and New Development Policy among the Bumiputera communities in Sarawak. Journal of Malaysia Studies, XXI(1), 211-256.
Magni, G. (2017). Indigenous knowledge and implications for the sustainable development agenda. European Journal of Education, Research Development and Policy, 2(11), 22-38.
Minos, P. (2000). The future of the Dayak Bidayuhs in Malaysia. Kuching: Lynch Media and Services.
Mohd. Yusof, K., Kasim Md., M., & Gari, I. (2006). Isu kemiskinan bandar: kes negeri Sabah. In Ishak Yussof, Nor Aini Idris, & Basri Abdul Talib (Eds.), Ekonomi Malaysia ke arah pascaindustri (pp. 176-192). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Narayan, D., Chambers, R., Shah, M. K., & Petesch, P. (2000). Voices of the poor crying out for change. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nor Aini, I. (2006). Isu dan masalah kemiskinan di Malaysia. In Ishak Yussof, Nor Aini Idris, & Basri Abdul Talib (Eds.), Ekonomi Malaysia ke arah Pascaindustri (pp. 134-151). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Pieterse, N. J. (2000). After post-development. Third World Quarterly, 21(2), 175 191.
Posey, D. A. (2004). Indigenous knowledge and ethics: A Darrell Posey reader. New York: Routledge.
Rahmah Ismail, & Nasir, M. S. (2003). Perancangan pembangunan. Dalam Rahmah Ismail, & Mohd. Shukri Hajinoor (Eds). Dimensi ekonomi pembangunan teori dan realiti. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Rajah Rasiah. (2017). Book Review: Charting the economy: Early 20th century Malaya and contemporary Malaysian contrasts. Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies, 54(2), 315-316.
Ritzer, G. (2000). Classical sociological theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Sandin, B. (1967). The Sea Dayaks of Borneo before White Rajah rule. London: Macmillan.
Sarmila, M. S., Zaimah, R., Lyndon, N., Hussain, M. Y., & Awang, A. H. (2015). Local community economic wellbeing through CSR project. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4S3), 79-87.
Schutz, A. (1973). Collected papers 1: The problem of social reality. The Hague: Martinus Nijohoff.
Sillitoe, P. (2000). Let them eat cake, indigenous knowledge, science and the poorest of the poor. Anthropology Today, 16(6), 3-7.
Sillitoe, P., Dixon, P., & Barr, J. (2005). Indigenous knowledge inquiries: A methodologies manual for development. Dhaka: University Press.
Uchoh, D. U., Gapor, S. A., Lyndon, N. (2014). Religion and cultural change in paddy farming among native in Sarawak, Malaysia. Social Sciences, 9(5): 349-353
Abdullah, M. F., Othman, A., Edo, J., & Jani, R. (2019). Multidimensional poverty index of marginalized Orang Asli in Terengganu, Malaysia. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 27(2),1241-1259.
Abdul Rahman, E. (2005). Development and well-being. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Agrawal, A. (1995). Indigenous and scientific knowledge: some critical comments. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, 3(3), 1-12
Antweiler, C. (1998). Local knowledge and local knowing: an anthropological analysis of contested cultural products in the context of development. Anthropos, 93, 469-494.
Anuwar, A., Ishak, Y., & Nor Aini, I. (2006). Proses industrialisasi dan pembangunan ekonomi Malaysia. In Ishak Yussof, Nor Aini Idris, & Basri Abdul Talib (Eds.), Ekonomi Malaysia ke arah pascaindustri (pp. 35-53). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Barrett, Robert J. (1993). Performance, Effectiveness and the Iban Manang’, in the Seen andthe Unseen: Shamanism, Mediumship and Possession in Borneo, Robert L. Winzeler, ed. Borneo Research Council Monograph 2.
Briggs, J., & Sharp, J. (2004). Indigenous knowledges and development: A postcolonial caution. Third World Quaterly, 24(44), 661-676.
Campbell, Y. M., Ghazali, K., & Suffian Sahuri, S. S. (2016). Preserving indigenous knowledge through folk narratives: Podi and Ngoyu. JATI-Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 21(12), 203-219.
Chambers, R. (1992). Rural appraisal: Rapid, relaxed and participatory. ID Discussion Paper, 311, 1-60.
Chambers, R. (1994). The origins and practice of participatory rural appraisal. World Development, 22(7), 953-969.
Chamhuri, S. (2000). Poverty focused development programs: Reaping the benefits of globalisation? Borneo Review, 11(1).
Chamhuri, S., & Nor Aini, I. (1996). Pertumbuhan dan kemiskinan: satu sorotan. In S. Chamhuri, & I. Nor Aini (Eds.), Kemiskinan dalam arus pembangunan ekonomi Malaysia (pp. 21-39). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Chamhuri, S., & Norshamliza, S. (2006). Dasar, strategi dan program pembasmian kemiskinan: Penilaian keberkesanan, isu dan masalah. In Ishak Yussof, Nor Aini Idris, & Basri Abdul Talib (Eds.), Ekonomi Malaysia ke arah pascaindustri (pp. 152-175). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Chamhuri, S., & Rospidah, G. (2006). Pembangunan mapan dan proses perindustrian. In Ishak Yussof, Nor Aini Idris, & Basri Abdul Talib (Eds.), Ekonomi Malaysia ke arah pascaindustri (pp. 92-114). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Ellen, R., & Harris, H. (2000). Introduction. In R. Ellen, P. Parkes, & A. Bicker (Eds.), Indigenous environmental knowledge and its transformations (pp. 1-33). Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers.
Freeman, J. D. (1955). Iban agriculture: A report on the shifting cultivation of hill rice by the Iban of Sarawak. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: outline of the theory of structuration. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Grenier, L. (1998). Working with indigenous knowledge: a guide for researchers. Ottawa: IDRC.
Hew Sim, C. (2003). Women workers, migration and family in Sarawak. London, New York: Routledge Curzon.
Katiman, R., & Abd. Hamid, A. (1996). Keperluan asas, pembangunan rakyat termiskin dan pusat perkhidmatan desa: Pengajaran dari Hulu Terengganu. In S. Chamhuri, & I. Nor Aini (Eds.), Kemiskinan dalam arus pembangunan ekonomi Malaysia (pp. 238-259). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Kementerian Luar Bandar Malaysia. (2019). Dasar pembangunan luar bandar Malaysia [Malaysian rural development policy). Retrieved from https://www.rurallink.gov.my/
King, V. T., & Nazaruddin, M. J. (1992). Isu-isu pembangunan luar bandar di Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Latouche, S. (1993). In the wake of the affluent society: An exploration of post development. London: Zed.
Lukes, S. (1972). Emile Durkheim: His life and work. New York: Harper dan Row.
Lyndon, N, Selvadurai, S., Rose, R. A. C., Hong, H. S. (2015). Cattle marketing social network among the rural native community, Sarawak, Malaysia: A qualitative research. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(5), 269-277.
Madeline, B. (2004). Towards the National Vision Policy: Review of the economic policy and New Development Policy among the Bumiputera communities in Sarawak. Journal of Malaysia Studies, XXI(1), 211-256.
Magni, G. (2017). Indigenous knowledge and implications for the sustainable development agenda. European Journal of Education, Research Development and Policy, 2(11), 22-38.
Minos, P. (2000). The future of the Dayak Bidayuhs in Malaysia. Kuching: Lynch Media and Services.
Mohd. Yusof, K., Kasim Md., M., & Gari, I. (2006). Isu kemiskinan bandar: kes negeri Sabah. In Ishak Yussof, Nor Aini Idris, & Basri Abdul Talib (Eds.), Ekonomi Malaysia ke arah pascaindustri (pp. 176-192). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Narayan, D., Chambers, R., Shah, M. K., & Petesch, P. (2000). Voices of the poor crying out for change. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nor Aini, I. (2006). Isu dan masalah kemiskinan di Malaysia. In Ishak Yussof, Nor Aini Idris, & Basri Abdul Talib (Eds.), Ekonomi Malaysia ke arah Pascaindustri (pp. 134-151). Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Pieterse, N. J. (2000). After post-development. Third World Quarterly, 21(2), 175 191.
Posey, D. A. (2004). Indigenous knowledge and ethics: A Darrell Posey reader. New York: Routledge.
Rahmah Ismail, & Nasir, M. S. (2003). Perancangan pembangunan. Dalam Rahmah Ismail, & Mohd. Shukri Hajinoor (Eds). Dimensi ekonomi pembangunan teori dan realiti. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Rajah Rasiah. (2017). Book Review: Charting the economy: Early 20th century Malaya and contemporary Malaysian contrasts. Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies, 54(2), 315-316.
Ritzer, G. (2000). Classical sociological theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Sandin, B. (1967). The Sea Dayaks of Borneo before White Rajah rule. London: Macmillan.
Sarmila, M. S., Zaimah, R., Lyndon, N., Hussain, M. Y., & Awang, A. H. (2015). Local community economic wellbeing through CSR project. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4S3), 79-87.
Schutz, A. (1973). Collected papers 1: The problem of social reality. The Hague: Martinus Nijohoff.
Sillitoe, P. (2000). Let them eat cake, indigenous knowledge, science and the poorest of the poor. Anthropology Today, 16(6), 3-7.
Sillitoe, P., Dixon, P., & Barr, J. (2005). Indigenous knowledge inquiries: A methodologies manual for development. Dhaka: University Press.
Uchoh, D. U., Gapor, S. A., Lyndon, N. (2014). Religion and cultural change in paddy farming among native in Sarawak, Malaysia. Social Sciences, 9(5): 349-353