Lift ban on ‘Golden Son of Kadazan’ book — Bosi

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Anak Negeri Penampang Chief, Dr Edwin Bosi , has called on the Pakatan Harapan Federal government to lift the ban on the book “Datuk Peter Mojuntin - the golden son of the Kadazan”.

“I have raised this matter in the Sabah Assembly and also written a letter to the then Home Minister to appeal to him to lift the ban on the book. With a new government in Putrajaya, I hope they will consider my request so that young generation of Kadazans and Sabahans know their leader especially Datuk Peter Mojuntin,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Sadly, “I have heard many young boys and girls asking “who is this guy” when they pass by the statue of Datuk Peter Mojuntin in Dongonggon township.

Bosi, who is the former Kapayan assemblyman, led a group of Anak Negeri supporters to lay a wreath at the Datuk Peter Mojuntin’s statue at Dongonggon to pay respect to the golden son of the Kadazan who perished in a plane crash on 6th June 1976 also known as the “Double Six Tragedy”.

Bosi said all Kadazan leaders must continue and complete the struggle of Datuk Peter Mojuntin for his community.

Bosi said it is time that the mystery revolving around the fatal crash of the Normad aeroplane killing most of the Berjaya top leaders on June 6, 1976 be made public.

“I know a son of one of the leaders who perished has constantly voiced to the government to make the report of the crash public.”

Bosi said this sad episode must be put to a close so that Sabahans and especially families of the tragedy can move on and continue with their lives in peace.

Bosi reminded the Sabah government to pursue for full implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 or MA63. He said the issue had been highlighted by NGOs such as MySabah and had also been raised and debated in the Sabah Assembly.

The then BN government had appointed a Minister, Datuk Teo Chee Kang to head a committee to advise and pursue the matter with the Federal government, Bosi added.

Bosi said: “We appear to be almost there but the win by Pakatan Harapan (PH) at the Federal level in the just concluded GE14 may ‘derail’ this BN effort to bring about the implementation of the MA63. For now, I hope the PH government will look kindly to Sabah and Sarawak in as far as the MA63 is concerned”.

Bosi also called on the government to fulfil the guarantees of the Batu Sumpah, namely freedom of religion, land under State control and to respect and preserve the native laws.

“I have recommended, and I say it again that a Royal Commission of Enquiry (RCI) on the Batu Sumpah should be set up to determine if the aspirations and dreams of the natives of Sabah have been fulfilled by the government. The RCI on the Batu Sumpah is the brainchild of DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.

“As the then chairman of the DAP Sabah Native Consultative Council I saw the erection of seven replicas of the Batu Sumpah throughout Sabah. I like to emphasize here that the Malaysian government did not make a promise but rather made three guarantees to the natives of Sabah which were boldly engraved on the Batu Sumpah.

“As an advocate of native rights, I like to see the fulfilment of the guarantees of the Batu Sumpah,” Bosi concluded.