KSS disagrees over the use of Momogun
Published on: Sunday, July 24, 2016
Penampang: Kadazan Society Sabah (KSS) disagrees with the manner in which Momogun National Congress (MNC) is advocating the term "Momogun" as a collective identity for the Dusunic, Murutic and Paitanic speech communities in Sabah. It insists it does not want the name "Kazadan" to be changed.KSS President Datuk Marcel Leiking said the MNC should have consulted all the ethnic associations first and never assume everyone would buy the idea.
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"In our view, it is inappropriate to assume that the various ethnic bodies representing their communities are agreeable to any proposed name as their race.""We believe in consultation and not confrontation," he said in a statement.But, he said, the ethnic associations have not been consulted for the views and opinion on such important matter which could possibly be perceived as a threat to their ethnic identities. "KSS does not agree to change our community name Kadazan to any other name," he insisted. He stressed that the Kadazan community has been recognised by the Federal Government as one of the founding community partners in gaining independence of North Borneo (now Sabah) and the formation of Malaysia on August 31, 1963 and on September 16, 1963, respectively.
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"We have our history, language, tradition, culture and customs (adat). We cannot leave this sacred duty to uphold and safeguard these legacies which we inherited from our ancestors and founding fathers to other parties. We cannot allow outside parties to label our race Kadazan as an 'invented race'," he said.
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He further said that before independence the forefathers had organised a forum to chart the future of the people through the District and Native Chiefs Conference held in Bingkor, Keningau in 1956. And he pointed out that together with the Society of Kadazans they succeeded in convincing the British North Borneo Government to declare the Kadazan Harvest Festival a public holiday, which was approved in 1960, and subsequently celebrated for the first time on June 30 to July 1 the same year at St Michael's School in Penampang.The festival, he said, continued to be recognised by the Sabah Alliance Government and later received an annual financial assistance by the then Berjaya government. He stressed that although the MNC has the right to unite various ethnic communities, the KSS whom he said are also a stakeholder, did "not agree in the manner it is being done."He also said it had come to KSS' attention that some of its members had taken part in initial discussions on the subject of unity but their participation was never sanctioned by the organisation."As such, their attendance was of their own volition," he said.Recently, Party Cinta Sabah President Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing urged the MNC to get the consent from all stakeholders before asking the Government to accept the term Momogun as a group classification for natives in the State.He reportedly said the party was fully supportive of MNC's intention but it must not assume that the Dusunic, Paitanic and Murutic speaking communities would agree to the proposal.Last Tuesday, MNC Deputy President Datuk Dr Bernard Maraat had assured that the organisation would engage with Momogun leaders, including leaders of NGOs, on the proposal which, if accepted, will replace "lain-lain" in official documents and national statistics. But Parti Bersatu Sabah Secretary General Datuk Johnny Mositun last week argued that MNC had no locus standi to demand the State Government to classify natives in the State as Momogun.MNC President Datuk Henrynus Amin, however, had made it clear the use of Momogun would not replace the people's ethnic identity but strengthen it. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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