Much local history undocumented
Published on: Wednesday, September 07, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: There are still many local history and literature resources which have yet to be documented, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.As such, he said, researchers and writers, especially among the academicians in the State should put more emphasis on the matter and produce more quality publications."I hope more academic and semi-academic writings will be produced by local researchers and writers.ADVERTISEMENT "Such effort will uplift the communal history resources to become a knowledge treasure as well as highlighting the uniqueness of local history," he said during the launching of 'Pengislaman dalam Kalangan Dusun Ranau (1940-1976)' (Islamisation among the Ranau Dusuns) book, here, on Tuesday.He said the book will complement the referential resources for students in future."Plus, the data was gathered through field works, proto-witnesses, original documents and interviews."Masidi, a Dusun native from Ranau himself, said that the Islamisation of the Ranau Dusuns is unique compared to the other parts of Sabah where the propagation was initiated by a rubber estate supervisor and not a fulltime preacher.ADVERTISEMENT The propagation of Islam among the Ranau Dusuns was initiated by a Javanese, Raden Mohamad Syarif Ambek who was fondly known as Mandur Syarif or Bapak Tua by the Ranau Dusuns."My late father was also one of Mandur Syarif's students and we have many fond memories of him," he said.
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Masidi also said the Islamisation of the Ranau Dusuns was conducted in a gentle way which led to a generation of tolerant and respectful Muslims in Ranau.Interestingly, he said, the propagation of Islam and Christianity in Ranau happened around the same period."In fact, in Ranau, religious affiliation is not an issue as some families may have relatives who are Muslims and non-Muslims, and this created a very tolerant kind of Islam which emphasises a lot on mutual respect and love."The book was co-authored by Eko Prayitno Joko, Baszley Bee Basrah Bee, Sabihah Osman and Saat Awg Damit who are lecturers in history and communication in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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The research and writing processes were done from 2009 until 2011 before the editing and reviews in 2014. The 180-page book is published by Malaysia Institute of Translation and Books (ITBM).