Reading developments in the Sabah issue, I can't help but recall the words of Macli-ing Dulag, Tribal Chieftain of the Cordillera Mountains when he was asked by the government to show titles to prove that they own the land:
"How can we say we own the land? How can we own something that will outlive us? Truly, it is not we who own land, rather it is the land which owns us."
Though the circumstances faced by Macli-ing Dulag and his tribe are different from that being faced by the Kirams and the Tausugs, both hold on to the cultural, historical and social basis of land ownership.
Land is a way of life.
The government should have considered this together with the mindset of our brothers from the south.
For the president to simply say "Surrender without conditions" is blunderous. His position is reprehensible beyond belief.
It's official. The President of the Republic does not have my trust and confidence.
Read more about Macli-ing Dulag:
http://www.bantayog.org/node/96
