Tan Sri Herman Luping’s talk on the background to the renewed Kadazandusun controversy was fascinating. Firstly, there is no such person as a Kadazandusun. Both the Kadazans and the Dusuns can trace their ancestry back to Nunuk Ragang – The Red Banyan Tree – the site of which is near Telupid in the centre of the State. The term Kadazan (The People), has been used since Nunuk Ragang times to distinguish them from the animals and the semi divine parents of legend, Kinoingan and Suminundu.
More prosaically, their forefathers slowly migrated from China to Taiwan, then to The Philippines and on to Borneo. The Dusuns are a people who were first described as farmers by the Brunei overlords to identify the payers of taxes, then continued by the Colonial Administration. They speak virtually the same language and follow very similar customs, especially with regard to Adat, the universal laws which govern all aspects of life. In addition to these two main groups, there are many smaller groups belonging to the same speech “family”, some of the 14 tribes speaking a dialect of the language.
Tun Fuad Stephens, the first Huguan Siou (Paramount Leader) of the Kadazans, proposed that The term Kadazan be used to unite the 14 peoples of the same language group and give them a stronger voice. This was agreed by the majority, but some of the Dusun people wanted greater autonomy for their own group. Today, Kadazan usually refers particularly to the people of the Penampang and Papar areas.
In 1965 the Kadazan Cultural Association (KCA) was formed, and, at a later date, the motion to redefine it as the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA) was carried by the majority. Tan Sri believes that there is presently a move to try to find a consensus amongst the leaders of the speech communities, and that the question of the name tag will be settled once and for all.
The Adat have been passed down through the generations and are still honoured by many today in spite of having been banned as the work of mammon by the early missionaries. The most important of these, Tadau Kaamatan (Harvest Festival), has been recognised by the Federal Government, a large step in the right direction for the Kadazandusun.
For further reading, please refer to Tan Sri Herman Luping’s newly published book: Indigenous Ethnic Communities of Sabah THE KADAZANDUSUN. To know more about the Adat of the Kadazandusuns, several books written by Colonial Officers have been reprinted by Opus Publications, and are available at Natural History Publications (Borneo) and Borneo Books in Wisma Merdeka.
What is important here is the Adat or Culture. A name is only a name. A Rose is a Rose by any other name. Actually, it is only a form of identity. However the heart of the matter is the most crucial.
In this case, it is the Adat or Culture which will determine whether a race will move to higher level of achievement, educationally, commercially, industrially, agriculturally etc.. So far the Kadazan/Dusun/Murut ( KDM ) Culture has been able to cope with the progress of modernity.
I am in agreement with Tan Sri Herman Luping on the role that Culture plays in the life of an individual. It is the motivating force which makes a person achieved his dream or goal.
Values originate from Cultural practices. Similarly Values can be changed to meet the needs of the times. It follows therefore that dynamism is required to make one competitive in this era of globalisation in all aspect of human endeavours.
Just so, this same spirit of ‘ high self-esteem ‘, ‘ hardwork, pragmatism, perseverance, knowledge seeking and ‘ never say die ‘ must be complementary to the existing KDM Culture and Values. These are mechanisms or means that will propel KDM to the next level of development and achievement.
No doubt, Tun Fuad Stephens, Datuk Peter Mojuntin, Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Tan Sri Suffian Koroh, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, Datuk Monggoh Orow including Tan Sri Luping and other KDM leaders have the abovementioned prerequisites of holding firmly and practising the Culture and additional Values of hardwork, pragmatism, perseverance……………..
And because of these Values, each one of them have achieved their respective dreams and goals. Therefore these supplementary Values should now be incorporated into the mainstream of KDM Culture. Thus making them part and parcel of the KDM Cultural and Value System.
It would also be a good idea to record the struggle of all KDM leaders until they attained success in their respective fields. These would then be compiled into a book and become compulsory reading for all KDM parents and children.
In order to instil them with these positive values, thus enabling them to become achievers in this competitive world.