Hand over Oath Stone plaque to police: DAP
Published on: Monday, July 06, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: DAP Sabah wants the Batu Sumpah plaque to be handed over to the police to facilitate investigation if it is confirmed to be authentic.Its Secretary Dr Edwin Bosi said while DAP Sabah was glad that the "so-called" original plaque of the Oath Stone had re-surfaced, not far from its original site in Kampung Apin-Apin, Keningau, it was also necessary to hand over the artefact to the police as evidence. DAP Sabah had lodged a police report claiming the plaque on the Oath Stone presently had been tampered with and that the original one had disappeared, he said in a press conference at the DAP Sabah headquarters in Bundusan, Sunday.
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However, Dr Bosi, who is Kapayan Assemblyman, said the main issue was not finding the original plague but finding out who changed the plaque with the omitted three words "Kerajaan Malaysia Jamin" (Malaysian government guarantees). "We want to know who is the culprit(s) and what year was the alteration made.As far as we are concerned, the Batu Sumpah is a legal yet historical document."It is a covenant between the natives of Sabah with the Malaysian government. Three guarantees were made by the Malaysian government in exchange for the loyalty and support of the indigenous people in the Interior to the government," he said.
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Dr Bosi said the guarantees were in relation to the formation of Malaysia, namely freedom of religion; land under the control of the Sabah government and the customs and tradition of the natives are respected and preserved."Can these three guarantees be amended?" said Dr Bosi, who is also Chairman of the DAP Sabah Native Consultative Council.
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According to him, DAP Sabah had launched a Batu Sumpah erection campaign and "we would like to see every native village in Sabah has one erected in the village." "We have erected five - in Inanam, Pensiangan, Moyog, Merotai and Matunggung. The next one will be in Sook, Melalap and Langkon. Basically, the Batu Sumpah is a political reminder to the indigenous people of Sabah of the three guarantees."The people therefore can ask themselves if the government has respected and fulfilled these guarantees," he said.He said DAP Sabah had also demanded that the Government establish a Royal Commission of Enquiry (RCI) on the Batu Sumpah. "We want to know if the wishes, dreams and aspirations of the people of Sabah, especially the indigenous people, have been fulfilled or otherwise, that is betrayed. "We know that the answer is with the people. They can relay their answers through the ballot box," he said.Meanwhile, DAP Sabah Chief Jimmy Wong demanded the Government to explain the reason it never realised that the present plaque had actually been tampered with."DAP is new in Sabah but we were the first to take action against it," he said while taking to task the two brothers, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan and Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, both being veteran political leaders in Keningau for not taking action from the beginning.He also urged the government to be more serious with the Oath Stone and complied with the promise made when it was unveiled on Aug 31, 1964 that an annual ritual must be held to renew the oath."But this has never been done," said Wong and claimed that for this reason, "the people in the interior have the right to be angry with the government." Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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