KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — The Keningau Oath Stone on Sabah natives’ rights will be relocated with RM1.025 million in federal funds and will have its missing words restored, minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said.
Nazri said the Oath Stone, or Batu Sumpah, will be shifted from the Keningau district office to state land near the Keningau Heritage Museum, with the crucial original words of “Kerajaan Malaysia Jamin” (The government of Malaysia guarantees) to be restored to the stone’s plaque.
“The allocation is for the relocation of the Batu Sumpah, construction of new roads, a historical wall, softscape, Oath Stone plaque and parking lots,” he was quoted saying by local daily The Star.
He said RM25,000 out of the RM1.025 million funds allocated by the federal government under the 11th Malaysia Plan will be given to Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister and Kadazandusun paramount chief Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan to conduct the relocation ritual according to native customs, adding that the entire process will be properly documented.
“The ministry is aware of the significance of this Oath Stone and its restoration and relocation work,” he said, adding that the Sabah government will continue to own and manage the historic stone.
Noting that the Oath Stone is an important historical heritage of Sabah and the federation of Malaysia, Nazri also said it would be gazetted under Sabah’s Cultural Heritage (Conservation) Enactment 1997 after its relocation.
The Oath Stone was erected in 1964 to assure Sabahans of the federal government’s guarantee of their rights to religious freedom, land and that their native customs would be safeguarded.
The Oath Stone is significant to the local native community as it was erected as a reminder to the federal government to honour the 20-point agreement made before the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
Back in September 2014, Sabah politicians discovered the controversial removal of the words “Kerajaan Malaysia Jamin” from the three-point declaration on the Oath Stone.
An Oath Stone plaque claimed to be the original was later found and is now with the Keningau heritage museum.
