le. It is a concept which is more acceptable to bureaucrats and politicians.
Both ideologies have specific merits, and both have been employed in the region, though frequently not together. This in itself indicates another dimension of the issue of addressing problems related to threatened peoples everywhere; that is, the solution to their problems is constrained by the self-interest of others, including, unfortunately, academics on whom falls the responsibility of finding the answers. In this as in other regions of the Third World, many experts dealing with this subject have recommended the employment of traditional socio-economic systems as alternative means of improving and sustaining the economy, livelihood and culture of indigenous people. The rationale and merit of the idea rest on the recognition that the traditional systems are environmentally friendly and have succeeded in fulfilling the needs of these societies for centuries. This argument is found in many current works (for example, Bodley, 1990; Paul Richards, 1985).
Is this approach a viable alternative? Based on the preceding analysis, it is imperative that until the term 'traditional' is clearly defined; until the core (primary) can be identified and separated from the secondary (and less important) attributes of traditional culture; and until at least the important undercurrents within the societies involved, and numerous other related issues, are fully understood, the 'populist' approach will remain only an avenue for theorizing. It is no doubt a very romantic concept. However, traditional systems are sustainable only under some very rigid conditions: demographic, social and economic. Even in the case of the Penan (including the nomadic groups), its validity is doubtful. Indigenous socio-economic systems in themselves are very dynamic, as was seen among the Orang Ulu. Such dynamism was essential in order to contain exploitation by the more advanced socioeconomic groups.
Moreover, if threatened peoples are to be able to compete with, and to avoid being dominated by, the relatively advanced outside communities, it is essential that they should learn and understand at least the basic mechanisms of the socio-economic systems of these outside groups. It is only with this knowledge that they could develop some form of defensive or offensive strategies. There are aspects of the traditional societies which could be used to resolve some of the modern problems faced by these vulnerable groups in the region, and which could be 'married' with some modern systems as an alternative development strategy, provided that indigenous peoples can participate in the planning and management of their own welfare, and incorporate more of their perceptions and aspirations of development.
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