The rationale behind the Penan Kubaan Ethnic Groups refusal to seek wage employment in the mainstream economy of Malaysia

Abstract

Penan ethnic group in Sarawak, Malaysia are assumed to be lagging in development flows since Brooks’ administration. The Kubaan Penan ethnic group resides in the remote area of the forest and their daily activities are planting vegetable and hunting for food. Many of them refuse to go out to improve their quality of life financially. It is in contradiction to the Malaysian nature which works 15 hours extra than workers in Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore in a week. Study uses semi-structured interview and questionnaire were implemented. The findings show that the ability to master the Malay language is the major reason why the Kubaan Penan ethnic group refuses to go out from their village to find job. Various parties have to participate in order to equip Kubaan Penan ethnic group with the national language of Malaysia to increase their self-confidence and enable them to enter the labour market.   Key words: Penan, labour market, remote area.