Batu Sumpah Keningau | |
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5°20′34.49″N116°9′41.89″E / 5.3429139°N 116.1616361°E | |
Location | Keningau, Sabah |
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Designer | Garukon Gurun |
Type | Megalithic |
Material | Stone |
Dedicated to | Agreement between Interior Sabahan and Malaysian Government |
The Keningau Oath Stone (Malay : Batu Sumpah Keningau) is a monument in Keningau, Sabah which was specially erected to commemorate the merger of the British Crown Colony of North Borneo with the former colony of Sarawak and states of the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia. [1]
The proposal to form a larger federation of Malaysia comprising the recently independent nation of the Federation of Malaya, the British protectorate of Brunei, and the crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore had met with some initial opposition from influential community leaders in the respective territories.
The North Borneo Legislative Council finally agreed to accede to the Malaysia Agreement on 12 September 1962 after presenting the 20-point agreement written by Donald Stephens during the negotiations to form Malaysia. [2] Despite this development, considerable apprehension and reservations still existed among the traditional native chiefs of Sabah known as the Orang Kaya-Kaya regarding the rights of the state within the new federation. [3]
One of the original stone retriever also request for correction on the stone origin as the stone is retrieved from the Senagang River, not Pegalan River as stated in current source. [1]
After a series of discussion and consultation, a proposal was made by the State Legislative Opposition Leader cum traditional native chief, G. S. Sundang and his brother Datuk OKK Sedomon of the United Pasok-Momogun Kadazan Organisation (later re-organised as the United Pasok Nunukragang National Organisation) to erect an oath stone summarising the guarantees given by the Malaysian government to Sabah while reiterating the loyalty of the people of the Interior to Malaysia. [4] However, according to Zainnal Ajamain, a Sabah historian, G.S. Sundang did not endorse on the "minimum safeguards" for Sabah before entering the federation, while advocating complete "state rights" like other states in Malaysia such as Penang and Malacca. Sundang carved stone out of frustration. [5]
There are many stones taken and collected from surrounding areas of Keningau such as Bandukan, Bayayo, Dangulad, Senagang, Tuarid, and Ulu Liawan but they are not suitable and are easily broken. The District Officer of Keningau, Richard Lind (later to become the State Secretary of Sabah), was charged to oversee the erection of the oath stone. A suitable boulder was taken from the Pegalan River near Kampung Dangulad (a small village in Keningau) and carved by Garukon Gurun, former Sergeant Major of the legendary North Borneo Constabulary. A plaque was commissioned and made by the Thornycroft Shipyard in Singapore to be affixed to the stone. [3]
The Keningau Oath Stone was unveiled and officiated on 31 August 1964 at the compound of the old Keningau District Office. The event was officiated by the Federal Minister of Labour, V. Manickavasagam, and witnessed by state government officials and community leaders including the Chief Minister, Muhammad Fuad Stephens, the leader of the United Pasokmomogun Organisation, G. S. Sundang as well as the OCPD of Keningau, Ajamain Duraman and other traditional native chiefs. [3]
A maningolig ritual with an animal sacrifice by a bobolian (traditional priest) was held in accordance with the traditional beliefs of the Dusun people to bind the guarantees. [4]
In commemoration of Malaysia Day in 2010, Parti Keadilan Rakyat led by state party leader, Jeffrey Kitingan, re-enacted the maningolig ritual at the monument. The sacrificed rooster was later found to be alive despite having its neck slit. Kitingan noted that this was possibly a "symbolic reminder that not all the terms of the Malaysia Agreement had been honoured". [6]
During Malaysia Day celebration on 16 September 2014, the inscription of the stone was found to have been tampered with. The words "Kerajaan Malaysia Jamin" (The Government of Malaysia guarantees) were removed from below the title "Batu Sumpah Peringatan Mengikut Parlambaga'an" (Memorial Oath Stone according to the Constitution). [7] [8] [9]
On 6 July 2015, the original plaque of the inscription was reportedly found by a resident in Kampung Apin-Apin. The plaque was later handed over to Sabah state assemblyman Jeffrey Kitingan. [10] Meanwhile, Jeffrey has decided to hand over the plaque to Sabah chief minister Musa Aman in the next Sabah State Legislative Assembly sitting. [11] However, Sabah Museum Director, Joanna Kitingan, who is Jeffrey's sister, expressed doubt about the originality of the newly discovered plaque. [12]
On 30 January 2015, it was proposed that the oath stone would be relocated to the compound of Keningau Land and Survey Department with the missing words reinstated. [13] In February 2016, the oath stone was proposed to be moved to Keningau Heritage Museum and will be gazetted as National Heritage Site. [14]
The continuous delaying for relocation as well with the high cost reason for restoration from the federal government have been criticised by Sabahan politicians and perceived by them as the federal government not having an intention to keep its promise. [15] [16] However, despite the persistent delays, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Joseph Kurup, pledged that the stone would be restored and relocated with the missing words of 'Kerajaan Malaysia Jamin'. [17] Around RM1.025 million have been allocated by the federal government for the relocation to a site near the Keningau Heritage Museum. [18] Malaysian Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the relocation would enable more people and tourists to come and appreciate the history behind the Oath Stone and it would be gazetted under the State Cultural Heritage Enactment (Preservation 1997) after the relocation. [19]
In September 2018, the oath stone was relocated to Keningau Heritage museum with the three missing words restored. [20] [21]
The inscription on the plaque affixed to the Keningau Oath Stone is in the Malay language written in the old spelling system (pre-1972 Spelling Reform): [22]
Batu Sumpah Peringatan Mengikut Parlambaga'an
- Ugama Bebas Dalam Sabah
- Tanah2 Dalam Sabah Di-Kuasa Oleh Kerajaan Sabah
- Adat Istiadat Anak Rayat Sabah Di-hormatkan dan Di-pelihara Oleh Kerajaan
Sebalek Pula Rayat2 Sabah di Interior Bersumpah Ta'at Setia Kapada Kerajaan Malaysia
Translated, it reads:
Memorial Oath Stone according to the Constitution
- Freedom of Religion in Sabah
- The Government of Sabah Holds Authority over Land in Sabah
- Native Customs and Traditions Will Be Respected and Upheld by the Government
In Return, the People of Sabah's Interior Pledges Loyalty to the Government of Malaysia
Sabah is a state of Malaysia located on the northern portion of Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalimantan province to the south. The Federal Territory of Labuan is an island just off Sabah's west coast. Sabah shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the west and the Philippines to the north and east. Kota Kinabalu is the state capital and the economic centre of the state, and the seat of the Sabah State government. Other major towns in Sabah include Sandakan and Tawau. The 2020 census recorded a population of 3,418,785 in the state. It has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests, abundant with animal and plant species. The state has long mountain ranges on the west side which forms part of the Crocker Range National Park. Kinabatangan River, the second longest river in Malaysia runs through Sabah. The highest point of Sabah, Mount Kinabalu is also the highest point of Malaysia.
The United Sabah Party is a political party of Sabah. The PBS was founded by Joseph Pairin Kitingan in 1985 and it is Sabah's oldest local party. In August 2020, PBS confirmed that they would be using their own logo and flag until Sabah's local coalition is established under Registrar of Societies (RoS). In 2022, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) is the only Sabah's local coalition that has been successfully registered under the Registrar of Societies (RoS) making PBS interested in using the coalition's logo and becoming part of the coalition's component.
Keningau is the capital of the Keningau District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It is the fifth-largest town in Sabah, as well one of the oldest. Keningau is between Tambunan and Tenom. The town had an estimated population of 173,130. Dusuns, Muruts and Lundayehs are the major ethnics in Keningau.
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Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan is a Malaysian politician who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Sabah from April 1985 to March 1994 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Keningau from August 1986 to May 2018. He is founding President of the United Sabah Party (PBS) and brother of Jeffrey Kitingan, the Deputy Chief Minister II and State Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of Sabah and President of Homeland Solidarity Party (STAR) as well as uncle of Maximus Ongkili, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs and President of PBS. He is the longest MP in Sabah.
Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan(born 22 October 1948, also known as DDJK or DSPDJK since 2021) is Malaysian politician who has served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah I since January 2023 and State Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of Sabah for the second term since September 2020. He served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah II from October 2020 to his promotion in January 2023 and the first term in the position in May 2018. In January 2023, he was appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister I of Sabah succeeding Bung Mokhtar, who was dropped due to a political crisis. At the federal level, he served as the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture from March 2020 to his resignation in September 2020 and Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government from August 1994 to May 1995. He has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Keningau since May 2018, Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Tambunan since May 2018 and Bingkor from May 2013 to May 2018. He has served and been founding President of the Homeland Solidarity Party (STAR), a component party of the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and a former component party of the federal and state ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, since July 2016.
The United Pasok Nunukragang National Organisation is a regional political party in Malaysia based in the state of Sabah. It was established in 1978. Before its deregistration, it was the oldest political party in Sabah that was currently still in existence. Despite being a party that maintains a Kadazan-Dusun ethnocentric platform, membership is opened to all ethnicities and the party's leadership has multi-ethnic representation.
George Cathcart Woolley was a British colonial administrator in North Borneo in the early part on the twentieth century. Woolley was also an ethnographer and an ardent collector, and the Woolley Collections of photographs, diaries and other artefacts, bequeathed to the State Government of Sabah, formed the nucleus of Sabah Museum when it was founded in 1965.
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