KadazanDusun groups reject settlement over ‘cattle show’ insult

 

Twenty KDMR associations say the agreement signed between lawyer Marcel Jude Joseph and KDCA is invalid.(Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association pic)

KOTA KINABALU: Several KadazanDusun Murut Rungus (KDMR) associations are not happy that lawyer Marcel Jude Joseph’s beauty pageant insult was settled outside the native court.

Twenty KDMR associations filed a statement of claim in the native court in Tuaran yesterday against Marcel for his remarks describing the annual Unduk Ngadau pageant as “a cattle show”.

The claim was filed by United Sabah Dusun Association (USDA) president Ewon Ebin, who also represented the other 19 associations.

“Today I represent 20 KDMR associations representing various ethnic communities (and) filed a statement of claim in the native court in Tuaran against Marcel for insulting the community by his remarks on the Unduk Ngadau pageant in May,” Ewon said in a statement.

“We had a meeting on July 10 to discuss the matter and we came to the conclusion that what Marcel did was a grave insult to the community and a grave breach of native customary law.

“Therefore, the matter has to be brought to the native court for adjudication,” he said.

Ewon also said there had been apprehension across the KDMR community on the so-called settlement via an agreement between Marcel and KadazanDusun Cultural Association (KDCA)  to pay a “sogit” (compensation) of seven buffaloes to the community.

“Our stand is that the mediation as facilitated by KDCA is not legally valid because proper procedure was not adhered to. KDCA is only an NGO and therefore cannot claim that it represents the whole community.

“Many ethnic associations affiliated with KDCA had not been consulted about the deal,” Ewon claimed, adding that the associations that filed the claim today stressed that mediation must be conducted in a native court by an official of the native court.

Last week, KDCA deputy president Jeffrey Kitingan said the association had reached an agreement with Marcel to resolve the issue of the latter’s insult to the KDMR community.

He disclosed that Marcel had agreed to settle a “sogit” of seven buffaloes to the KDMR community through the KDCA within 14 days, and publish a half-page public apology in a local newspaper of his choice.

Kitingan said the agreement would be registered with the native court in Penampang and that both parties had agreed not to challenge the terms of the agreement in existing courts in Sabah. - FMT