KOTA KINABALU : As if the ‘Allah’ issue has not done enough damage to the racial unity-and-harmony of this unique nation that is proud of its racial harmony, now another race-and-culture-sensitive issue has ensued.
Not only that, this latest controversy involving opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has heightened the ‘Anti-Malaya’ sentiment among the native people of Sabah.
This happened when the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Ranau decided to bestow PKR de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim the coveted-and-sacred title of ‘Huguan Siou of Malaysia’, during his visit to Kg Paginatan in Ranau, to grace a political gathering there on Sunday. Huguan Siou means Paramount Leader for the Kadazan Dusun community.
This has sparked a furor and strong protest among the Kadazan Dusun community in Sabah, with many questioning its appropriateness and demanding for an explanation from the party involved in this matter.
Many have since expressed their anger through Facebook in response to a posting of the incident by Jonathan Yasin, Ranau PKR Chief which features a photo showing Anwar wearing the Kadazan Dusun headgear and a sash bearing the ‘Huguan Siou’ title around his shoulder with the caption: “DS Anwar Ibrahim telah dinobatkan sebagai Huguan Siou Malaysia di Kg Paginatan, Ranau-10/2/13” (DS Anwar has been coroneted the Huguan Siou of Malaysia in Kg Paginatan, Ranau 10/2/13).
The said posting received more than 350 comments and shared by more than 50 people, with most of them expressing their disapproval and disgust against such an act which they deemed a gross insult to the Kadazan Dusun community.
One top commentator, Amylia G Joannes stressed that the title of Huguan Siou is the highest honour of the Kadazan Dusun community and is only bestowed to a member of the community who is truly qualified and deserving of such a title.
“Everyone realizes that Huguan Siou is synonym to the Kadazan Dusun. Hence one must understand that when someone mentioned about Huguan Siou, automatically people will refer to the Kadazan Dusun community. So, it’s better to use other name (on Anwar) so as not to create any confusion and uneasiness to others,” she said.
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