KOTA KINABALU: The Tombonuo Association Kota Kinabalu called for a national conference to discuss and adopt a a resolution to make “Momogun” the new collective identity of the dusunic murutic and paitanic tribal community in Sabah.
The association’s chairman Marius @ Kogos Samain said the Paitanic tribal community in Sugut Beluran has no problem in accepting Momogun.
“They are integrated with the dusunic tribal community who are closely related to them in terms of geography, culture, language and history, ” he said in a statement Tuesday.
Kogos said he fully support the speech by UPKO President, Datuk Ewon Benedick, during the recent sitting of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly, calling for the inclusion of “Momogun” in government official forms.
Kogos expressed hope all cultural or ethnic associations representing the dusunic murutic and paitanic tribal groups support the vision of a common collective identity to enable them to be included in government official form and the national data system.
MEANWHILE, the Rungus Cultural Association (RCA) also supports the call by Datuk Ewon for the indigenous people of Sabah to be classified as “Momogun” and not as “others” as seen in all official government forms.
In a statement by Datuk Jornah Mozihim, the RCA President also commends the consistency of the National Congress of Momogun (MNC) since its establishment in leading the effort to make “Momogun” the common term for the Dusunic, Murutic, and Paitanic ethnic groups.
“It is clear that the indigenous people of Sabah have made significant contributions to the political landscape and development of the state. However, categorising the indigenous people of Sabah as “others” is an unjust and unreasonable injustice, considering our significant contributions,” she said.
“RCA is one of the 21 signatories of the 2016 ‘Declaration of Momogun’.
Together with other Momogun organizations, RCA slhope that the indigenous people of Sabah will be given the privilege to have their rightful national identity as “Momogun” and not just be classified as “others”.
“We thank Datuk Ewon Benedick for making this call in the recent Sabah State Legislative Assembly meeting, ” Jornah said.
