No sign of Oath Stone pledge
Published on: Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: The pledge by two Federal Ministers to have the key words "Kerajaan Malaysia Jamin" (Government of Malaysia Guarantees) restored on the historical Keningau Oath Stone plaque and its relocation as well as gazetting as a National Heritage Site has yet to materialise – over the question of funds.During a press conference in Kota Kinabalu in January last year, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, assured that the key words that were omitted in a later version of the plaque – when it mysteriously went missing while being relocated during a road project – would be reinstated. According to him, the stone would also be relocated from its resent site at the Keningau District Office to a new site near the Lands and Surveys Department before the end of 2015. Kurup was also quoted as saying that once the Oath Stone has been installed at its new site, it would be declared as a national heritage in view of its significance in the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
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And in February this year, Federal Minister of Tourism and Culture, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, in addition to ordering the key words to be reinstated, also pledged that the Oath Stone would be gazetted as a National Heritage Site. He said this during his visit to the Monument and the proposed new site.He said the stone would be gazetted as a heritage object under Section 49 of the National Heritage Act 2005 based on its importance and significance in Sabah's history, especially in the formation of Malaysia.Nazri had also said the State Government through the Sabah Museum had agreed to gazette the Oath Stone under the State Cultural Heritage (Conservation) Enactment 1997.
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"I will bring the application for funding to the Prime Minister who is also the Minister of Finance. I hope that my fellow ministers such as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Kurup, and other State ministers will support me.
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"I also expect the State Government through Deputy Chief Minister, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan and the State Cabinet to support this so that this request will be approved by the Federal Finance Minister," he had said.At the same time, Nazri gave his assurance on fulfilling the reinstatement of the words "Kerajaan Malaysia Jamin" in the plaque. "The decision I made today (February 12, 2016) need to be followed up by my officials and I will make sure that it is implemented," he had said.Also present were Deputy Chief Minister, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Kurup and Keningau District Officer, Hj Yusop Hj Osman, among others.But with Malaysia Day (September 16) just around the corner, it appears that nothing that was pledged by both the Ministers had materialised before the big day. When contacted, Hj Yusop said that for now, the entire thing is not ready for this year's Malaysia Day (Sept 16) celebration."Belum siap. Saya tunggu peruntukan dari KL (Not ready. I am still waiting for the allocation from KL," he told Daily Express.Asked on the cost of the proposed project since funding appears to be the problem, Yusop said: "(Datuk) Nazri's Ministry will know."The Keningau Oath Stone (Batu Sumpah Keningau) commemorates the terms for Sabah's entry to Malaysia. The proposal to erect the oath stone was jointly made by Native Chief (Datuk) OKK Sedomon and his brother (Datuk) G.S. Sundang of the United Pasok-Momogun Kadazan Organisation to immortalise the guarantees given by the Malaysian Government to Sabah in exchange for the loyalty of the people of the Interior to Malaysia. This was because the interior natives remained opposed to the formation even a year after Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and British North Borneo (Sabah) merged on 16.9.1963.This worried then first appointed Chief Minister Donald (later Fuad) Stephens who sent former State Secretary Tan Sri Richard Lind (then Keningau District Officer) to find how they can be appeased.To which the natives replied that they did not trust whatever agreements that had been agreed on paper which can be discarded into the bin or amended in future but one cast in stone for all to see for perpetuity.Today, it has become the only such form of acceptance known in the world where an indigenous community's response towards the formation of a new nation was secured only after their wishes to have their demands literally cast in stone were met.Lind was entrusted with the task of overseeing the erection of the oath stone. A suitable boulder was taken from the Pegalan River near Kg Dangulad, a small village in Keningau and carved by Garukon Gurun, the former Sergeant Major of the North Borneo Constabulary. A plaque was commissioned and made by the Thornycroft Shipyard in Signapore to be affixed to the stone.The inscriptions are the key aspects of the 20-Point Agreement that the Interior natives (led by OKK Sedomon) wanted honoured in stone.The inscription on the plaque in Malay reads:Batu Sumpah Peringatan Mengikut Parlambaga'an (old spelling system):Ugama Bebas Dalam Sabah, Tanah2 Dalam Sabah Di-Kuasa Oleh Kerajaan SabahAdat Istiadat Anak Rayat Sabah Di-hormatkan dan Di-pelihara Oleh KerajaanSebalek Pula Rayat2 Sabah di Interior Bersumpah Ta'at Setia Kapada Kerajaan MalaysiaWhen translated, it reads Memorial Oath Stone according to the Constitution:Freedom of Religion in Sabah, The Government of Sabah has jurisdiction over lands in Sabah,Sabah's Native Customs and Traditions Will Be Respected and Upheld by the GovernmentIn Return, the People of Sabah's Interior Pledge Loyalty to the Government of Malaysia.The Oath Stone was unveiled on August 31, 1964 on the day that Sabah was allowed self-government status by the departing colonial administration a year earlier – and two weeks before the first anniversary of Malaysia's formation on September 16, 1963 – at the compound of the old Keningau District Office. Then Federal Minister of Labour, V. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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