President's Report 2006

September 2006

Dear Fellows, Members and Subscribers:

I have enclosed invoices for the 2006 Fellowship and Membership fees in the BRC. I apologize for this delay in getting these out to you, but it has been a rather interesting year, which I shall report on shortly.

During the year we were able to publish the 2005 issue of the Borneo Research Bulletin. This brings us almost up to date. We are in the process of preparing the 2006 issue which we hope will be published before the end of the year. This will make us current.

There is much other news.

Reviews of Research and Scholarly Literature in Various Disciplines

The most exciting development this year has been the establishment of a new series of publications that review the status of research and scholarly publications in various fields. The various scholarly fields of Borneo studies have expanded so that it is difficult to keep up with developments in subjects other than one’s own specialties. It is hoped that these reviews will help scholars determine what research from other disciplines might be relevant to their own research and also provide students with the necessary information to help them prepare for their research in Borneo.

If these reviews are lengthy they will be published as Occasional Papers; if shorter in length, they will appear in the BRB.

We have invited the following individuals to prepare reviews:

• Sander Adelaar, a survey of linguistic research in Borneo

• Motomitsu Uchibori, a review of research in Borneo by Japanese scholars

• Menno Schilthuizen, a review paper on the history of evolutionary biology in Borneo

• Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan, a review of ethnomusicology in Borneo

• Leslie Potter, historical research on Kalimantan from the Dutch period onwards

• Chris Hunt, review of the environmental change over the last 100,000 years

Reviews which have already appeared in Volume 36 (2005) of the Borneo Research Bulletin:

• Menno Schilthuizen, After the Sarawak Law: Evolutional Biology in Borneo Since 1855.

• Nicolas Tarling, Further Notes on the Historiography of British Borneo

We want to express our thanks to these authors for their excellent work!

We are searching for other scholars to provide reviews on the status of research in various disciplines. These could include a review of botanical research in Borneo, a review of studies on the uses of plants by various peoples of Borneo, a review of medical research, and reviews of biological research such as those on birds, trees, fish, snakes, mammals, etc.

Requests for Suggestions and Volunteers

We would appreciate recommendations as to what disciplines need reviews and those scholars and scientists who would undertake such work. Or would you volunteer for one of these reviews? We would welcome volunteers and nominations.

We need to position the publications of the BRC and particularly the Bulletin to appeal to a wider audience. We believe that these reviews will be useful in achieving this. It is also hoped that these reviews will stimulate correspondence on the particular reviews, adding information that may be more current, enlarging on or disagreeing with the conclusions of the author so that the scholarly community will benefit.

Monographs, Proceedings, and Occasional Papers

As there have been new publications during the year, we have included a list of publications with an order form. These include:

• Genes, People and Borneo History, Adela S. Baer, 2005. BRC Occasional Paper No. 2. US$10.00

• Acts of Integration, Expressions of Faith: Madness, Death and Ritual in Melanau Ontology, Ann L. Appleton, 2006. BRC Monograph No. 9 (With a forward by Dr. R. J. Barrett). US$45.00

• Vital Signs: Health in Borneo’s Sarawak, Adela S. Baer, 2006. BRC Occasional Paper No. 3. US$20.00

Publications in Process

• Memoirs of Janang Ensiring, edited by Vinson and Joanne Sutlive.

• Linguistic papers from the BRC Conferences in Brunei and Pontianak edited by Peter Martin and Peter Sercombe.

We are still talking with Cliff Sather to encourage him to prepare a volume containing his important essays and we are still hoping that Amy Kimball will permit us to publish her extensive work on Brunei Toponyms.

New Editor of the Monograph and Occasional Paper Series

Paul Culligan, Ph.D., has volunteered to edit these two series. Paul received his M.A. and Ph.D in the Southeast Asian Studies program, National University of Singapore. His Ph.D. Thesis was “Indonesia and the Challenge of Decentralisation”. He is currently in the Faculty of Social Sciences, SIM University in Singapore.

Paul hopes to bring in good manuscripts from a variety of disciplines in the social, biological, and medical sciences.

Anyone interested in publishing with the Borneo Research Council’s series should contact him about any proposals, along with copies to the office here. Paul’s contact information is:

Email: pjccuk@singnet.com.sg
Paul Culligan,
9 Bukit Batok Central Link
#17-01 The Jade
658074 Singapore
Tel: (65) 82884505

International Board of Editors for BRC Publications

Information on this board appeared in last year’s newsletter. As it has been a most productive year for this Board, it has been decided to offer the members of the Board a 40% discount on all BRC publications in appreciation of their work.

We welcome hearing from anyone who would be interested in participating on this Board.

2006 Biennial BRC Conference in Kuching at UNIMAS

I have heard that Dr. James Chin organized a splendid and productive conference this past July/August. We really must express our thanks for all his work to make this a successful conference. There is in discussion the possibility of publishing the papers from this conference.

2008 Biennial BRC Conference- in Sabah

Professor Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan, Kadazandusun Chair, jointly with the School of Social Sciences, at UMS, has offered to host the next International Conference of the BRC. This kind offer has been accepted by the BRC Board. Contact for the conference is:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan, Chairman
Main Organising Committee
Borneo Research Council 9th Biennial International Conference
Kadazandusun Chair
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Locked Bag 2073
88999 Kota Kinabalu
Sabah, Malaysia
Tel: ++6088-320102 Fax: ++6088-320242
e-mail: jacquie@ums.edu.my Or jacquiemusic@yahoo.com.au

Authors of Articles in the Bulletin Who Are Not Members

The financial situation for the BRC would improve if those who submit articles for the Bulletin would become Members or Fellows of the BRC. This would help cover the costs of printing their articles. There has been some discussion on how to handle this. We have considered charging nonmembers a publication fee. But this was not met with great enthusiasm by the executive committee.

The following policy was developed to handle the problem. All authors who are not Members or Fellows will receive a Membership or Fellowship for the year of publication in the Bulletin. It is hoped by this they will be encouraged to continue their membership.

Any other thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Publication Sales and Discounts

The discount to Fellows for the purchase of publications of the BRC has been raised to 25%. Members shall receive a 10% discount.

We have put aside a number of complete sets of the Proceedings to sell for $45 per set.

BRC Website

The website now includes a list of Members and Fellows, all our publications with table of contents of each, President's Reports, announcements, history of the BRC, application for membership, information on the BRC Medals and Biennial Conferences, list of Officers, etc. www.borneoresearchcouncil.org

The Anthropologists' Fund for Urgent Anthropological Research

The Anthropologists' Fund for Urgent Anthropological Research was launched in 1993 to support basic ethnographic research on threatened or disappearing cultures and languages of indigenous peoples. The Fund is entirely supported by individual contributions. It is expected that the research funded will make a fundamental contribution to anthropological knowledge and will also serve, where appropriate, as an aid to indigenous peoples in their struggles to control their own destinies.

Grants for research are made in association with the Royal Anthropological Institute. Further information may be found at: www.urgentanthro.org

Administration

Present Volunteers: The BRC's ability to generate scholarly work is a result of the volunteer work of various Fellows and Members of the Council. Vinson Sutlive continues to oversee and advise on the work of the BRC and has been instrumental in maintaining the Biennial Conferences.

Robert Winzeler, as I have mentioned previously, has devoted much of his volunteer time to create the list of dissertations on Borneo and keep it up to date.

Editor of the Bulletin: Clifford Sather has devoted much of his time to the editorship of the Borneo Research Bulletin. This is a hard, time-consuming job, but it has its rewards in the response of those who read the Bulletin and find this material useful in their own research.

Book Review Editor and Current Bibliographer: Dr. A. V. M. Horton has kindly consented to become Book Review Editor and Current Bibliography Compiler for the Borneo Research Bulletin. A Bibliography of recent publications will appear in each issue of the Bulletin. Books for review, reprints or other notices of recent publication would be gratefully received by the editor. Please send these to:

Dr. A.V.M. Horton
180 Hither Green Lane
Bordesley
Worcestershire B98 9AZ
ENGLAND
e-mail: avmhorton@hotmail.com

New Volunteers and Additional Volunteers Needed

It has been a wonderful year for volunteering! Jay Crain has offered to read and evaluate manuscripts, as have Rajindra Puri, Nicholas Tarling, and the Earl of Cranbrook. Others have offered help, such as Reed Wadley, Adela Baer and Bjorn Dahlen.

But we could use more volunteers to help in the running of the BRC! In particular there is a need to increase the distribution of our publications. We need a volunteer who is knowledgeable in this area. We also need someone who might man a table at various association meetings, as Vinson Sutlive has in the past.

Finances

The income and expense statement for the past two years is attached. This does not include the full cost of labor which has been donated. We really need to increase contributions and develop new sources of income.

The Endowment Fund has grown from $4,873.28 in 2004 to $6220.28 in 2005. The Endowment Fund is invested in the Vanguard Selected Value Fund.

New Members and Fellows

The Council has a policy of welcoming new Fellows and Members by letter and sending them the latest issue of the Bulletin to let them know that they are logged in as Fellows or Members.

Contributors to the Endowment Fund

Ms. E. Kim Adams, Dr. Jennifer Alexander, Dr. Matthew Amster, Antiquarian Booksellers, Mr. Ralph Arbus, Dr. Clare Boulanger, Dr. Donald Brown, Dr. Jay B. Crain, Dr. Michael R. Dove, Dr. Michael Heppell, Professor Virginia Hooker, Dr. Patricia Matusky, Mr. John W. McCarthy, Mrs. Charity A. McNabb, Professor H. Arlo Nimmo, Mr. John D. Pearson, Dr. Anne Schiller, Dr. & Mrs. Otto Steinmayer, Drs. Patricia & Herbert L. Whittier, Dr. W. D. Wilder, Dr. Robert L. Winzeler.

Contributors to the General Fund

Dr. Matthew Amster, Antiquarian Booksellers, Dr. G. N. Appell, Mr. Ralph Arbus, Dr. Adela Baer, Dr. Martin Baier, Dr. Clare Boulanger, Dr. Carol J. Colfer, Dr. Jay B. Crain, Mr. Bjorn Dahlen, Dr. Otto Doering, Professor Ian Douglas, Dr. and Mrs. Allen Drake, Ms. Judith Heimann, Dr. Peter Metcalf, Dr. Rodney Needham, Dato Seri John Pike, Dr. Robert Pringle, Dr. Clifford Sather, Dr. Graham Saunders, Professor F. Andrew Smith, Dr. & Mrs. Otto Steinmayer, Dr. Jack Stuster, Ms. Dawn Tanner, Mr. Nathaniel Tarn, Fr. Brian Taylor, Dr. Philip Thomas, Dr. Reed Wadley, Drs. Patricia & Herbert L. Whittier, Mr. James Wickes, Dr. W. D. Wilder, Mr. William Wilkinson, Dr. Robert L. Winzeler, Dr. Leigh Wright, Mr. Herwig Zahorka. 

Visitors to BRC Office

We encourage and welcome visitors at any time.

The Passages of Life: New Blood Needed

Many of us who have devoted our energies and time to make the Borneo Research Council successful are no longer young. We need new blood now. In the next few years it will be mandatory to keep the BRC vital. We hope various individuals will step forward.

George N. Appell