‘A towering intellectual figure’: SDNU, S’wak minister mourns loss of economist, human rights advocate Madeline Berma

KUCHING (Dec 30): The Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) has paid tribute to the late Datuk Dr Madeline Berma, describing her passing as a profound loss to the academic fraternity and the Dayak community.

SDNU representatives remembered her as a towering intellectual who combined academic rigour with humility and a deep concern for grassroots issues.

SDNU Vice President and Women Chief, Dato Alice Jawan, said Madeline was widely known for her strong grounding in facts and data, particularly in analysing economic realities affecting society.

“She was always striving to help us understand our current economic situation so that we could move forward. I had the opportunity to work with her in many programmes aimed at empowering Dayak women,” she said.

Madeline, a respected academician and advocate for community empowerment, passed away at her residence in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, at about 11.30am today. She was 67.

Alice, who is also Sarakup Indu Dayak Sarawak (SIDS) president, added that Madeline’s insights and contributions would be greatly missed.

“Madeline is one of the community’s great academicians and a proud Iban woman whose legacy would endure.

“Rest in peace, kaban (comrade),” Alice said, reflecting sentiments shared across the community.

SDNU Senior Vice-President Chambai Lindong shared a personal recollection of his first encounter with Madeline many years ago during a boat journey to a political function at a longhouse in Sarawak.

Although they were strangers at the time, he said their conversation flowed effortlessly after introductions.

“Despite who she was, she was humble and genuinely interested in the affairs of the community,” he recalled, noting that the brief meeting left a lasting impression on him.

Chambai said he continued to follow Madeline’s work through her publications and public engagements, including seminars and conventions where she was often invited as a speaker.

He also recalled an occasion when a moderator remarked that Madeline possessed leadership traits similar to those of former minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.

“Our community has lost not just a towering intellectual figure, but also a great yet humble lady,” he said, adding that he was shocked by the news of her passing, as she had appeared well in recent photographs shared during the Christmas season.

SDNU leaders expressed their condolences to Madeline’s family and loved ones, honouring her lifelong dedication to scholarship, social development, and the empowerment of women.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Welfare, Childhood and Wellbeing Development Minister, Dato’ Sri Fatimah Abdullah, said she was deeply saddened by Madeline’s passing.

“She was a good friend, we have mutual respect for one another, a great colleague in eradication of poverty, and a strategic partner for MWKS and KPWK in advocating n training for women leadership.

“A great loss. She is not easy to be replaced,” said the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Women Chief.

Madeline was a Fellow of the Malaysian Future Institute, an appointed member of the Sarawak Economic Action Council, and also attached to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

She was widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading experts on the intersection of poverty and human rights.

She left behind two brothers. She had been on dialysis for about a year and was expected to return home for good.

According to nephew Basil Clifton Calvert, her remains are expected to arrive in Kuching on Jan 1, 2026 and she will be laid to rest at the cemetery in Kampung Siol Kandis.

Fatimah Abdullah lead Madeline Berma mourning RIP SDNU tribute