A DAP leader has asked his political counterpart to set aside differences in the issue of preserving the rights of the Orang Asal in the state.
DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang in a statement asked Sabah deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan to support the Keningau Batu Sumpah Movement.
“The Batu Sumpah movement, to plant a replica of the Keningau Oath Stone all over the state of Sabah, is not a DAP monopoly – it is above party politics as it concerns the heritage of all Sabahans as a reminder of the historic guarantees given to the people in the interior of Sabah about the trinity of their rights in the establishment of Malaysia in 1963 on religion, land and native customs,” Lim said upon unveiling the third Batu Sumpah replica in Moyong, Sabah today.
The movement, which emphasises three commitments of freedom of religion, the government’s preservation of natives cultures and traditions, and that the government of Sabah holds authority over land in the state; was spawned by the DAP, to commemorate the oath stone originally erected back on 31 August 1964 at the compound of the old Keningau District Office, Sabah.
Lim also said that he was prepared to be present at any Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) ceremony, of which Pairin is its leader and found, to mark the erection of another replica of the Oath Stone.
“The Batu Sumpah movement deserves the support of all Sabahans, regardless of political affiliation, ethnicity or region – and leaders from the Barisan Nasional parties in Sabah are welcome to join and participate in it,” he said.
According to Lim, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into illegal immigrants has brought back the central issues echoed by the oath stone.
“Without doubt, the greatest threat to the fulfilment of the three commitments engraved in the Keningau Oath Stone is none other than the 40-year nightmare of the illegal immigrants in Sabah, which had not only changed the political demography in the state, but drastically altered the socio-economic and security situation in Sabah,” he said.
The RCI was to have probed into the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah, and to address allegations of immigrants being given blue Malaysian identity cards which would enable them to vote. It concluded unsatisfactorily with a 368-page report that left more questions than answers.
