Malakun’s second bid to popularise Kadazan
Published on: Sunday, May 05, 2024
By: Lorena Binisol
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Roscalia Gom conducting free Kadazan class at ITCC.
Datuk Seri Panglima Clarence Bongkos Malakun says it is not just because the neighbourhood is predominantly Kadazan or the fact that he had a key role in the sprawling mega mixed development project that occupies one of the district’s choicest spots.
He has decided to try a second attempt at making the Kadazan language more widely used by his people. A civil servant before entering politics and then business as a developer, he is so passionate about the language gaining currency that he has started free Kadazan classes at the ITCC. It’s failed the first time 30 years ago.
Five teachers – Roscalia Gom, Diana Gilbert, Annette Noudin, Jimothy Biujin and Henry Bating – are doing their bit from 10am till noon every Saturday. The class is handled by his manager, Florence Underwood and assisted by Mary Wong Tulong.
The ITCC complex
Datuk Seri Panglima Clarence Malakun (left). At right is Huguan Siou Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan.
In the first in 1992, shortly after the completion of the KDCA (Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association) building of which he is deputy president he was helped by Peter Lidadun and the late Josia Ligajim. “It was unfortunate that the classes I initiated then did not sustain as I had hoped. Over time, participation lessened significantly.
“It was a good crowd in the beginning. However, the numbers kept dropping over time. In the end, only a handful remained,” he lamented.
He noted that Kadazans were not so interested in mastering their mother tongue unlike the Koreans, Chinese (mainland) and Japanese, who seized the opportunity.
Because the objective of encouraging the local community to actively participate and improve their mother tongue was not being achieved, he decided to discontinue the classes two years later.
For Clarence, the declining interest among Kadazans to master the language raised significant questions about preservation of linguistic heritage and cultural identity. He fears the possibility of the language becoming extinct in the coming decades.
“It is time to take action and refocus on our primary goal, that is to encourage the younger generation to speak and learn this precious mother tongue,” he said.
Clarence attributes the declining interest partly to the community’s leaders being embroiled in arguments about the language for too long and losing sight of the main intention – preservation of the language.
One of the Kadazan signage at ITCC building
“This is for the love of Kadazan, the only language in the world that truly represents our identity and culture,” he stressed, adding that pointing fingers and assigning blame would serve no purpose.
“We’ve spent too much time arguing over petty matters like the correct use of certain words. If we continue to cling to these debates, how will others perceive us?
“Instead of preserving our culture, we may be seen as simply trying to prove who is right and who is wrong.”
“Often they will argue about words representing the Kadazan and Dusun that may seem ‘incorrect’.
“Arguing about specific words representing certain races is pointless. Let such debates rest and redirect your efforts towards encouraging young people to speak their mother tongue.
“After all, the two dialects (Kadazan and Dusun) share almost 90pc similarity, leaving little room for contention.
“What is there to argue, when the real focus should be on speaking the mother tongue at home and passing down these skills to the younger generation,” he said.
Learning from past experience, Clarence decided his attempt this time should not be monotonous but interactive. This means both teachers and students need to engage in conversation to effectively learn the language.
“It must be a two-way process,” he said.
What he has decided not to repeat is his 1990s attempt at introducing Bobohizan (pagan priestess) classes, at that time by head Binjulip Sigayun and Noilip Mambalat.
“The Bobohizan classes were to preserve another cultural aspect, to raise awareness among the younger generation about our origins.
“We found that the class held at Inai Noilip’s house in Kg Ramayah was more successful, while the one held at KDCA received very few participants, experiencing a fate similar to the Kadazan class.”
“Gusiti Lojikim, Levonis Tulus, Losimin Majanil and Silip Lajanjip were the few products of Inai Noilip’s teachings, who successfully grasped the skills,” he said.
He regrets in the past some among the community who were quick to comment negatively, without seeing the value in preserving Kadazan language and culture for posterity.
“My intention was to warn that if we don’t take action, the language will vanish. Instead, they questioned my authority to make such a statement.
“If we continue to be overly sensitive and engage in arguments about who is right and who is wrong, how are we portraying ourselves as concerned about the ‘disappearance’ of our native language?
“It’s similar to how other languages and even species disappear when not actively preserved.”
Another idea he has in mind is to increase activities such as traditional food that promote Kadazan culture.
“There are more vendors promoting our native items like traditional attire, traditional food and I am proud of them.
“So while embracing Kadazan culture, people get to learn the language at the same time,” he said.
Nevertheless, Clarence admits it is not a task he can execute alone and welcomes ideas and strategies from those equally concerned. He said KDCA as an association representing the Sabah natives is obliged to be creative in carrying out activities that enhance interest in the preservation of culture, tradition, and languages.
“As long as it remains conversationally apt, there should be no issue,” he said.
“Let’s put aside our differences, whether you are Kadazan or Dusun. Let’s not confuse our children and the people any further. We have so little time to pass down this skill; let’s do it now before our heritage is lost.”
Evelyn Annol, who is equally passionate about preserving Kadazan culture, emphasised the importance of teaching the language. She said, ideally, it should be at home which is conducive to learning.
She was glad that the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), based in North Carolina, USA, made a statement regarding the preservation of languages among native people published in Daily Express on March 28, 2024.
“As rightly pointed out in the report, our indigenous languages are endangered,” she said.
“The Kadazan language will eventually disappear if parents stop speaking in Kadazan to their children,” she stressed.
She lamented that there is a tendency to favour a mixture of languages, resulting in a disorganised state that is “damaging” to our culture. Words are often mispronounced and sentences lack proper structure.
For instance, “Au ziau mimang?” instead of the correct one being “Au ko mimang?” (Do you want it?).
Annol said this trend is disheartening and poses a significant threat to the preservation of Kadazan heritage.
In 1995, she presented her Kadazan curriculum to the Head of Academics. Formerly a lecturer at the Teacher’s Training Kent Institute where she spearheaded the pilot project for schools in 1997.
Despite retiring from the education sector, she remained actively engaged in teaching Kadazan at her residence in Kg Penapah, Kondis.
Visitors from abroad often seek her out to learn about Kadazan culture, for which she draws on the wealth of knowledge passed down by late mother, Rosenani Sogondu.
“Whether we like it or not, it’s time to face the reality – the Kadazan language is on the brink of disappearing within the next five years.
“The question we must ask ourselves is what are we doing about it? Are our efforts to preserve it sufficient? Have we fulfilled our duty to safeguard our language for future generations?” she asked.
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