Bernard Mojikon Jr.
KOTA KINABALU: The family of the late Bernard Mojikon Senior has come out in the open to safeguard his name after the Kampung Tuavon land issue resurfaced again.
Bernard Mojikon Jr pointed out that his father was a teacher at St Michael’s School, Penampang in late 1930s and he was sent by the Catholic Misison to teach in Tambunan.
“I was born in Tambunan in 1940. When the WWII broke in 1942 my father brought his family back to Kg Tuavon, Penampang. He volunteered to be a Catechist and was active in community works, especially amongst the Kadazans.
“I grew up in Kg Tuavon, Penampang. As early as 1946 one Peter Govilon who was working in Brunei used to discuss with Orang Tua Joseph Tinoi on the importance of the Kadazan people to have an association. In early 1953 a group of people in Kg Tuavon led by the late OT Joseph Tinoi promoted the idea of forming an association for the Kadazans. This idea attracted a good number other Kadazans from other areas in Penampang and so on the 24th August 1953 the Society of the Kadazans (Registration No. 106/52 G.N. 146.53) was formed with Peter Gowilon as Assistant Secretary. Among the objectives the Society of Kadazans were education, economy and upholding the identity and Customary Law Kadazan Community under the then British North Borneo (now Sabah),” he said.
“The Society was initially led by one Lee Kim Cheong as Chairman, Vincent Wong Ligunjang, Vice Chairman and one Richard Yap as Secretary. My late father was one of the co-founding committee members and OT Joseph Tinoi the protem chairman was made the Advisor.
“The Society then constructed a building on a land belonging to my late father for their meetings and other recreational activities. Subsequently my late father decided to donate that piece of land measuring 0.6 acre to his beloved fellow Kadazans through the Society to construct a Kadazan Society club house. However, the land was held under a Native Title and my late father had to convert the land to a Country Lease since the Society could not hold an NT land and so the land was alienated to the Society in 1956 under Lease no. 134857,” he added.
According to the Lease, the “land hereby alienated shall only be used as the site of and for the erection thereon of a club house for the Society of Kadazans.”
“When I was around thirteen years old I was made responsible to ensure the perimeter fencing around the land was always in good condition to prevent our water buffaloes from going astray. The residents of Kg Tuavon at that time referred to this land as ‘Pogun Mojikon’ which means that it was the former site of Bernard Mojikon Senior’s house.
In 1957 at the Society’s AGM at Kg Tuavon, Penampang the late Donald Stephens (later Tun Fuad Stephens) was appointed as Vice Chairman. Donald Stephens was then the proprietor and editor of the first English newspaper in the Colony, the North Borneo News and Sabah Times which was later renamed “The Sabah Times”. In 1958 Donald Stephens was elected as chairman of the Society whilst Richard Yap remained as its secretary,” he said.
Bernard said a senior member of the Society of Kadazans, Fidelis Tan Ping Hing a Sino-Kadazan was appointed by the British colonial government as Native Chief who was empowered to process applications by Sino-Kadazans and only upon stringent verification were issued with Native Certificates now Sijil Anak Negeri. He was a recipient of the Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for his contribution to the community in that Sino-Kadazans were recognized as Kadazans and natives of North Borneo (Sabah).
The Society of Kadazans also played an important role in getting the British North Borneo colonial government to recognize and grant approval for a public holiday to the Kadazan Harvest Festival (Magavau) now popularly known as Tadau Kaamatan celebration in 1960.
In anticipation of the British granting independence to the then British North Borneo, Donald Stephens with a number of key members of the Society decided to form United National Kadazan Organisation (UNKO) as a political platform of the Kadazans in May 1961. The Kadazans allowed him to use Kadazan as the name of the political party which was launched on 6th August 1961.
With the key members of the Society having gone over to UNKO, the Society then became dormant. The 30-year lease on the land alienated to the Society expired in 1984 and the land was vested to the Penampang District Council.
When the new PBS government was in power in 1985, the government decided to build what is now known as Dewan Sigah in commemoration of the two Kadazan Huguan Siou having been formally bestowed the “Huguan Siou” title in the old building of the Society. As the years went by the Dewan was in a state of disrepairs due to lack of maintenance.
“On seeing this state of affairs, we felt sad as our father’s legacy in donating his land to his beloved fellow Kadazans through the Society came to nothing. However, when the Society was revived under the name of Kadazan Society Sabah (KSS) we felt elated. And seeing that the building on the said land continued to be neglected with no proper maintenance my brother Ernest Mojikon on behalf of the family considered it appropriate to ask KSS to apply for that piece of land that our late father had originally donated to the Society which is the forerunner of KSS. Accordingly, KSS submitted its application for the land to the District Land Office Penampang on 11th February 2019 and left it to the authorities for their consideration.
“It is most unfortunate that certain residents of Kg Tuavon held a protest in front of the Dewan on 20th July 2019 with some holding placards and even a parang. They hurled an accusation against my brother Ernest Mojikon as ‘traitor”.
“I as a senior member of Bernard Mojikon Senior’s family feel very sad that this matter has been blown out of proportion. The article entitled, “Tuavon wants end to Sigah tussle” was most hurting to me which should not have happened. As one of the sons of my late father Bernard Mojikon Sr. who donated the land on which Dewan Sigah stands, I wish to advise those who claim to champion the customary rights over the said land not to drag the matter into a political issue. As for the ancient graves of my great grandfather, Aki Gayam and my grandfather, Aki Mantayuk, my family had moved them years ago to a nearby graveyard,” he said.
“I wish to stress here that the land in question was formally a titled land held by my late father under Native Title (NT) No. 184867 and was not part of the Kampung Reserve. If anybody was entitled to apply for it, it should be the Mojikon family but we had chosen to continue to honour our late father’s noble wish to use it for the benefit of his beloved fellow Kadazan people and we had chosen to ask KSS to apply for the land with the hope that my late father’s legacy to the Kadazan people will continue in perpetuity,” said Bernard.
The post Mojikon family clarifies on Kg Tuavon land issue appeared first on Borneo Post Online.