Idris Jala and son Leon on what defines their Kelabit tribe

Free Malaysia Today

Chairman and president of Pemandu and former minister, Idris Jala and his son Leon, talk about the Kelabit community and how they’re keeping the culture alive in their family.   Story by: Sheela Vijayan  Shot by: Tinagaren Ramkumar  Presented by: Theevya Ragu  Edited by: Muhammad Akif Irfan   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2024/10/03/idris-jala-from-the-jungles-of-sarawak-to-the-halls-of-power/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTLifestyle #KelabitTribe #IdrisJala #Culture #Community

Transcript

00:00The Kelabit are among many of the unique indigenous tribes of Malaysia.

00:15Idris Jalla and his son, Leon, share with FMT Lifestyle what defines their Kelabit tribe

00:22and how these values are being kept alive in their family.

00:30Idris grew up in Bario, Sarawak.

00:34Despite having very few material possessions or modern comforts, he recalls always feeling

00:40content because of the strong sense of community he experienced there.

00:46So long house means you share everything together.

00:49In the olden days, there is no word for thank you.

00:54It's a very strange thing.

00:56In my whole life, I ask myself the question, how come a simple word like thank you doesn't

01:02exist in the Kelabit dictionary, it doesn't exist in the vocabulary, it's simply this.

01:08Everything you're sharing anyway, you're supposed to give it to somebody and it was a duty to

01:14give it.

01:15Although his father Idris has long left Bario and carved a name for himself in the corporate

01:21and political sectors, even becoming the first orang ulu to be made a federal minister, Leon

01:27shares that his large extended family remains close-knit.

01:32Something that my wife has observed and has pointed out, and it's the word warmth.

01:39So I think for her, observing from the outside, she says it's very interesting that your family

01:46is so, first of all, it's so large because we recognise even people who are six, seven

01:52times removed, we treat each other like first cousins as well, we're very, very tight-knit

01:58even at such a large scale.

02:00And I think for her, she says, well, first of all, there's a massive degree of warmth

02:04within the family unit.

02:06But she said the amazing thing is that extends even outside.

02:10So she said for her, the first time meeting the family, she said she felt very, actually

02:14quite intimidated going to a gathering with so many of us, feeling, will I feel a bit

02:21left out?

02:22But she was just so taken aback by everyone's hospitality and warmth.

02:33In the early 1970s, a spiritual revival swept through Bario, and Idris recalls trekking

02:39for four days to preach in another village.

02:43Today, Leon is carrying on his father's tradition by preaching in his church, where he also

02:49oversees the creative department.

02:52I think the faith, really, I would say even in this generation, it's something that we

02:58can all, many of us, we try to maybe run away from, myself included, and, but you start

03:06to see it pop up among people in my generation, where a lot of us are starting to rediscover

03:12our faith.

03:14And so I think for us, there's, because it's taught, we talk so much about it, we hear

03:19our grandparents, our aunties and uncles talk so much about it, there's this idea that no

03:24matter how much you try to reject it, at some point, at some point, it will come alive because

03:29the seeds have been planted.

03:32The Kelabit people also have a unique culture of storytelling.

03:42My dad, for example, he could recite a story with all the rhyme and rhythm.

03:50Every line is like a poetry, it's a story, and he would tell almost for five, three hours

03:58telling the story like Shakespeare.

04:02That's an oral tradition, and that art really is quite incredible.

04:07So I grew up not watching Netflix movies, but basically I had movies because they were

04:14told through stories of epic poetry.

04:18Today the father and son keep this storytelling culture alive, albeit with a modern twist.

04:25They host a weekly podcast together called The Game of Impossible that aims to inspire

04:31listeners to discover their own abilities and transform.

04:36Leon believes that the culture for storytelling among the Kelabit is born out of an appreciation

04:42for creativity.

04:44So I think as Kelabit kids, there's almost this joke that you don't really have a choice.

04:49It's almost expected of you to learn how to play some instrument or to at least be in

04:53music to a degree.

04:55In addition to painting and singing, Leon plays the guitar, which he learned from his

05:00father.

05:01Fun fact, in his younger days Idris was in a band that played rock and blues.

05:08He even wore his hair long.

05:11Today Idris owns 50 guitars and even learned how to make the instrument during the pandemic.

05:23Leon has begun exposing his own children to their Kelabit heritage by reading them books

05:28in the language and giving them Kelabit names.

05:32Maybe I can speak more into Kelabits like me who have maybe not really grown up in Barrio,

05:41who are maybe of kind of a mixed parentage as well.

05:44I think my hopes for this kind of next generation of Kelabits is that we would really start

05:52to walk and live out those values.

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