The men who laboured for the Oath Stone

KENINGAU: John Rikimin Sukah believes that the history of the Keningau Oath Stone needs to be rewritten.

The 77-year-old claims that there are discrepancies in current records about the monument, based on his first-hand knowledge as one of the four Dusun men from Kampung Kukup Senagang involved in preparing the slab of stone that would be used to mark an important event in Malaysian history.

The stone was erected to commemorate the terms in which the former British Crown Colony of North Borneo joined the former colony of Sarawak and the other states of the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia.

John said that the stone was retrieved from Sungai Mosolog Senagang and not Sungai Pegalan, as was currently recorded in history.

“I just want history to record the truth and for people to acknowledge and appreciate the effort that went into the formation of Malaysia,” he said.

John is upset that his name as well as those of the other three -- Ingui Taik, Sintan Damatang and Yusef Yabung (all three now deceased)- are not recorded in history as one of the first Malaysians involved in retrieving the stone used to commemorate the oath made in 1963.

“For 11 days, we toiled and risked our lives to dig up that slab of stone as it was lodged a metre deep in Sungai Mosolof Senagang,” he told Bernama when met at his home in Kampung Kukup Senagang, 15km from here.

The two-metre tall megalithic stone slab is about 1.5 metre wide and weighs more than two tonnes.

The septuagenarian can still recall the difficulties he and his friends endured to retrieve the stone.

They had to start digging very early in the morning. In addition to bearing cuts on their fingers, they also had to brave strong currents and even floods – which happened quite a few times.

“We also had to drag the slab to the riverbank before it could be winched into the waiting truck. That was extremely tiring work as we were only able to move six inches every hour. It took us days to do it.

“We spent seven days digging and dragging, and another three days to get the stone onto the truck belonging to a contractor named Nip Kui Siong (now deceased),” he said.

John said work started on Nov 2, 1962 after discussions with the then Keningau District Officer Richard A. Lind (now Tan Sri).

“He had ordered us to dig out the stone which was buried about a metre deep into the riverbed of Sungai Mosolog Senagang.

“He had clearly explained to us that the stone would be used to acknowledge the acceptance of the Dusun and Murut people (the rural people of Sabah) into the Federation of Malaysia,” he said.

Cognisant of the significance of the stone, John and his friends took to their task with diligence and care.

That is why he is saddened about the lack of acknowledgement over their contributions.

“I tear up every August 31, thinking about my friends. They passed away around 10 years ago without ever receiving acknowledgement for their contributions,” the father of 10 said.

The Keningau Oath Stone was unveiled and officiated on August 31, 1964 at the compound of the old Keningau District Office. The event was officiated by the then Federal Minister of Labour, V. Manickavasagam, and witnessed by state officials and community leaders including the then Sabah Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens.

“I am not asking for medals of honour. I just want our names to be acknowledged and remembered by history as one of those who contributed to our country,” he said.

The oath stone has been relocated several times since it was first unveiled, but last week it found its permanent home at Muzium Warisan Keningau.

The monument to guarantee Sabahans their rights when the Federation of Malaysia was formed in 1963 will be opened to visitors on Sept 16 in conjunction with the Malaysia Day celebration.

When it was first unveiled in 1964, a maningolig ritual with an animal sacrifice by a bobolian (shaman) was held in accordance with the traditional beliefs of the Dusun people to bind the oath made.

Adin Basinau, 73, said that he was only 18 years old when the ritual took place but had assisted the chief bobolian, Puan Gulim Adau in interpreting from Dusun to English for the benefit of British officers present during the ceremony.

Adin, who served as a teacher at Sekolah Kebangsaan Binaong Keningau at the time, was the grandson of one of the bobolian's assistants.

All the prominent native chiefs were present during the ceremony.

Both John and Adin agreed that without the oath stone, Malaysia would never have been formed. - Bernama