1.
YB Datuk Francis Harden
anak Hollis, Assistant Minister of Community Wellbeing
2.
Soon Heng’s life honorary
Chairman, Datuk Tan Chong Meng, Chief editor of the Dictionary
3.
Mr Bong Kee Ling, former
Political Secretary of CM, editor of the Dictionary
4.
Mr Chai Gao Hua, editor of
the Dictionary
5.
Temenggung Kueh Aik Seng,
who is also Soon Heng’s Vice Chairman
6.
Penghulu Chua Hiong Kee,
honorary President of Sarawak Chinese Cultural Association
7.
Dr Julita Lim, President of
Association for Sarawak Chinese Academic Research
8.
Professor Kueh Yak Yaw from
Hong Kong
9. Mr Heng Hock Chiang
10. Mr Tay Jui Kwang
11. Fellow Community and ethnic
leaders, NGOs leaders
12. Advisors and leaders of
Soon Heng
13. Members of the press,
Ladies & Gentlement
Welcome everybody, especially to our Guest of honour, YB Datuk
Francis Harden, the editors of the Kamus, friends throughout the State
and overseas to the Launching Ceremony of KamusIbanTionghoa, compiled by
Datuk Tan Chong Meng and his comrades, over 51 years ago and recently
republished by Simanggang Soon Heng Society.
When I took over the chairmanship of Soon Heng Society from Datuk
Tan Chong Meng in 2014, I was thinking of the most meaningful way of showing
appreciation to Tan Chong Meng who had excellently lead Soon Heng for 38 years.
Firstly, we honoured him as the Society’s life-long honorary Chairman
during a special ceremony. But, it is inadequet for an individual who has scarified his freedom (was
detent more than 10 years) for the betterment of the peoples during the
colonial period and early year of Malaysia.
We then decided to republish Datuk Tan Chong Meng and his
comrades’ work- the KamusIbanTionghoa, as this is the most unique and
significant work of him and his comrades for our nation. I believe everyone of
you here will agree to me it is a big task and not a easy job to get a
dictionary done. You have a Oxford Dictionary from UK & now a Dictionary
from Simanggang. It’s a big thing.
By republishing this dictionary, we are trying to promote the
spirit that Datuk Tan Chong Meng and his comrades have. During the most
difficult time of colonial era, they initiated to struggle for democracy and
independent of the state, even they are under detention, but they still keep to
their ideology and working towards to facilitate his peoples. Compiling this
dictionary is one of the example. To me, Datuk has created a hidden translater
between the Chinese & Iban community.
Today, Soon Heng is proud to present the first and only one
Iban-Chinese Dictionary to you. We hope by republishing this dictionary, more
and more peoples will be able to learn Iban Language and this will enrich the
goodfriendship and relationship of Chinese-Iban in the state. As today, more
and more Iban children going to chinese schools to learn Chinese. This
dictionary will be able to assist them by learning Mandarin through Iban
language.
I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate our
Simanggang Boy Mr Heng Hock Chiang who has been selected by our Chief Minister to
sit in the board in Sarawak Petroleum. It is indeed our Simanggang Town
Hourour.
Lastly, I would like to thank everyone of you who has attended
this ceremony and support us by buying a copy of the dictionary later. Thank
you very much, has a nice day.
当我在2014年从领导顺兴公会38年的拿督陈宗明的手中接过顺兴主席的棒子后，我就一直思考如何用比较特别的方式表扬这位长辈，我们先委任他为永久名誉主席，后在秘书长等的建议下以重版《伊华辞典》来纪念与表扬他与朋友们的贡献与付出。他们在那贫乏与艰难的时代，不曾放弃过为群众斗争，非常值得我们学习！
《伊华辞典》是当前第一本及唯一一本伊班-中文字典，更特殊的是它是一本监狱作品，是一群政治扣留者在1963年到1964年短短一年内的作品，在1966年6月由古晋槟岭路婆罗洲印务有限公司印行初版。
经过了半个世纪多，字典依然有其独特性与其可用性，但是伊班文拼字拼音的再规范及词汇的增加是难免的，但基于资源与能力局限，重版不在这方面做任何修改及增添。重版为保留原貌，采用原书扫描制版，增添版权页，纳入国际书号及再版说明，其他部分皆归原貌。
顺兴公会希望本字典的重版为砂拉越州多元族群的和谐交流增添注脚，同时激起我族子弟认真学习友族同胞语言，共存共荣，为州的前进努力。
待会儿，我们将赠送辞典于省内6间华小，这6间华小大部分是以土著生为多，在学习中文上往往面对问题，《伊华辞典》可能可以协助他们以母语来学习中文。最后，我希望会后大家以行动支持我们，多多购买这本词典，其收藏价值是肯定的。
