Police officers meet prestigious elders of Breng 3 village, Ia Der commune, Ia Grai district. (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

Gia Lai province has about 1,000 prestigious ethnic minority people. 770 of them are now members of Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees.

100 outstanding individuals have been awarded certificates of merit for their contributions to the ethnic minority community during the 2018 to 2020 period.

The prestigious people have set an example in mobilizing locals to respond to and participate in patriotic emulation movements, the campaign to unite all people to build new-style rural areas, and the campaign to change old ways of thinking to help ethnic people escape poverty sustainably.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich, Deputy Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee, said, “Village elders and patriarchs play an important role in the local political system and have greatly contributed to developing the local economy, implementing local policies, and stabilizing local security. We’ve supported the coordination model to ensure political and social security.”

“Over the past 5 years, the percentage of poor ethnic households has dropped from 41% to less than 5%. We have promulgated a direction on building new villages for ethnic minority people as part of new-style rural building.”

The prestigious people and the police have converted thousands of people who used to belong to the Fulro anti-government group that works to undermine national unity.

Elder Bome of the Bana ethnic minority, a former Fulro leader, has now become a prestigious person in Ha Bau commune, Dak Doa district.

Ama Thai, a former Fulro leader in Gia Lai province, has reformed his conduct and joined the Vietnam Fatherland Front of Chu Se district.

These people have worked with the provincial police to disseminate Party guidelines and State policies, said Hoang Quoc Thinh, Deputy Head of the Advisory Section of Gia Lai province’s Police Department.

“Training courses have been held for 955 prestigious people, who will now persuade others to abide by Party and State policies. It’s important to tap reputable people in the ethnic minority community for national construction and defense,” said Thinh.

Hundreds of ethnic farm households in Gia Lai now earn thousands of dollars a year.

Many village elders and parchiarchs have become a mainstay for local administrations in mobilizing villagers to boost the economy and reduce poverty.

Elder Djonh, former head of the Plei Mo Nu village Farmers’ Association in Pleiku city, said, “When I was a member of the Chu A commune Farmers’ Association, I often helped villagers with techniques for growing rice, coffee, and pepper trees."

As a result, "the living standards of Plei Mo Nu villagers are now more stable. My family, for example, has one hectare of coffee trees, several hundred square meters of pepper trees, and 1,800 square meters of rice,” said elder Djonh.

Each year, Gia Lai’s Fatherland Front meets village elders and reputable ethnic minority people to assess the local socio-economic situation and listen to the people's thoughts and aspirations concerning economic development, infrastructure construction, and religious activities.

Village chief Ksor Hyao. (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

Between 2015 and 2020, Gia Lai admitted more than 12,000 new Party members, many of them reputable ethnic people. Every hamlet, village, and residential area in Gia Lai has Party members and cells.