Doubts which only Lind can confirm

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Museum Director Joanna Kitingan said the authenticity of a plaque found recently and said to have adorned the Batu Sumpah (oath stone) will be analysed by former State Secretary Tan Sri Richard Lind, who was tasked to erect it in 1964, a year after Sabah's independence. Thus, she said Lind would be the only man able to confirm the authenticity of the plaque. Lind was Keningau District Officer then and also witnessed the ceremony when the stone was installed on the compound of the Keningau District Office on Aug 31, 1964.

"I understand the plaque has been surrendered to the police recently. We are still waiting for the opportunity to analyse it," said Joanna. But she does not think that the plaque that was supposedly discovered at a village in Keningau is the original.

This is because the original inscription had the words Batu Sumpah Mengikut Perlembagaan (The oath stone in accordance to the constitution) while the one handed over only states 'Batu Sumpah Peringatan' (Memorial oath stone).

The plaque was kept by a villager for 20 years before it was handed to Bingkor Assemblyman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who had on July 25, handed the item to the police.

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Jeffrey previously refused to hand over the plaque to anybody, including the State and Federal Government or the museum, saying there was no guarantee that the plaque would not be altered or destroyed.

DAP Sabah had called for the oath stone to be handed over to the police to facilitate investigations if it is confirmed to be authentic.

Its Secretary Edwin Bosi said a police report was lodged by the party, claiming the plaque had been tampered with and that the original one had disappeared.

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"The main issue here is not about finding out who changed the plaque with the omitted three words 'Kerajaan Malaysia Jamin'. What we want to know who are the culprits and what year was the alteration made?"

Towards this end, Joanna said unravelling the truth would require going through in detail all records from the Keningau District Office.

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