PENAMPANG, Feb 9 — The intention of the leaders of Pakatan Harapan, including Datuk Ewon Benedict, Datuk Ginger Phoong, Jannie Lasimbang and members of the public who went to the Keningau Oath Stone on 25th January was purely to pay respects and to honour the Oath Stone that they hold sacred and with very high regard.
“If anyone, especially the bobohizan as spiritual leaders and the Ketua Adat, consider our action of honouring the Oath Stone as not in harmony with the adat, then we sincerely apologize,” said Jannie.
The Kepayan assemblyman remains committed to what the Oath Stone represents, and will continue to assist the orang asal to secure their rights to their lands and to gain respect for their adat and dignity.
These are in line with the three government guarantees in the Oath Stone – that is for Sabah to have freedom of religion, that the lands in Sabah are controlled by the Sabah government, and that the adat are respected and preserved by the government as the basis for Sabah joining the Federation in September 1963 through the Malaysia Agreement (MA63).
“I and the Democratic Action Party (DAP) have always regarded the Keningau Oath Stone, which was erected on 31 August 1964, a year after the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, as the basis for the MA63 and expresses the essence of the special rights of the orang asal of Sabah,” she said.
Jannie added DAP fought for and succeeded in restoring the words ‘Kerajaan Malaysia Jamin’ which at one time was missing from the plaque of the Oath Stone.
DAP also raised awareness on the importance of the Oath Stone, and a campaign starting in 2014 also succeeded in erecting nine replicas of the Oath Stone in several districts including in Penampang, Merotai, Keningau, Tenom, Inanam, Sook and Matunggong.
Ewon’s recent visit to the Oath Stone where he splashed water on it using a dipper had apparently sparked outrage among certain parties, who argued that it was done without proper ceremonial rites and has breached local customs.
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan’s wife, Datin Seri Cecilia Edwin, has expressed feared that the recent flash floods in Keningau had anything with the Oath Stone.
United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) Penampang Youth chief Billy Joe Dominic has accused Cecilia of trying to divert the attention of the Keningau community regarding the real cause of the recent floods in the district. — The Borneo Post
