Kumis: The Dayak Community's Marginalization in the IKN Project

 

The Secretary General of the National Dayak Traditional Council (Majelis Adat Dayak Nasional - MADN), Drs. Yakobus Kumis, MH, expressed his frustration with deep emotion. Doc. LLD.

PONTIANAK - dayaktoday.com:: Amid the planning of the New Capital City (IKN), one voice has been conspicuously absent—the voice of the Dayak people, the rightful stewards and heirs of Borneo Island.

The Dayak's deep connection to the land, which is now being used for IKN, has been overlooked and disregarded. Despite their ancestral ties to the island, the Dayak find themselves excluded from key discussions and decisions regarding the future of their homeland.

The Dayak people’s land is being utilized for the new capital, yet they are treated as if they have no claim or stake in it. Without meaningful involvement or participation in the planning and development, they feel ignored and diminished. 

This exclusion leaves them questioning their place in the future of Borneo, a place they have historically and legally called home.

The Silent Exclusion of the Dayak People in IKN Development

When the results of the selection for the Directors and Heads of Bureau within the IKN structure were announced, the Dayak saw a glaring absence of their representation. Not a single Dayak individual was chosen for any important position in the new capital’s administration. This exclusion was felt most acutely in the absence of the Head of Otorita, their Deputy, and any Dayak presence among the Directors or Bureau Heads.

The Dayak, who have long been the caretakers of this land, now stand on the sidelines, watching as their ancestral home is reshaped without their input. The absence of their voice in IKN’s development is not just a slight—it is an outright denial of their rights and a failure to acknowledge their rightful place in the future of Borneo.

The Dayak’s Fight for Justice in the IKN Development

The Secretary General of the National Dayak Traditional Council (Majelis Adat Dayak Nasional - MADN), Drs. Yakobus Kumis, MH, expressed his frustration with deep emotion. In a video that has been circulating, he strongly voiced the injustice the Dayak people were facing. "We, the Dayak people, feel like we’ve been lied to. 

At first, we believed, but now we’re treated like this. We are the rightful owners of Borneo Island, don’t ever underestimate us. We demand our rights," Kumis declared, making it clear how deeply their feelings of being ignored in the planning of IKN cut.

For the Dayak, this isn’t just about holding a position in the government structure—it’s about their rights, which have been long disregarded, even though they are the rightful owners of the land that is now at the heart of national attention. Without their involvement, the Dayak feel pushed aside, reduced to spectators in the construction of their own homeland. And that’s a very real danger—one that threatens the marginalization of the indigenous people of Kalimantan.

Yakobus Kumis warns that if this injustice isn’t addressed, the IKN plan will face serious obstacles in the future. "If this is not taken into account, the IKN project will face big difficulties ahead," he emphasized, stressing how critical it is for the Dayak to be included in the process.

With an estimated population of 9.5 million worldwide, and 3.5 million living abroad, particularly in Sarawak, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam, the Dayak’s voice should be an integral part of any development plan that impacts their land. 

Without them, the IKN development loses its meaning, because the land at the heart of IKN is land that has long been guarded and passed down by the Dayak people.

For them, this isn’t just a demand—it’s a right that cannot be ignored.

-- Thabbut Perjanjian